Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday addressed the Sahakar Kisan Sammelan at Gangapur City in Rajasthan. The event was organized by the fertilizer cooperative IFFCO and was attended by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Birla said that the cooperative movement does not only involve farmers, but also encompasses labourers, workers, women, etc., all working together towards a common goal.
The goal of the cooperative movement, Mr Birla said, was not only growth of farmers, but also the growth of society at large. The movement has brought economic revival in rural India through various endeavors like zero-interest loans, usage and development of nano fertilizers reducing dependency on large financial institutions as well as by reducing import liabilities.
With the creation of a dedicated Ministry for cooperation and recent policy initiatives taken by the Ministry, the cooperative sector in India has been revived and strengthened, asserted Mr Birla. He said that the cooperative movement is a true reflection of the ‘Atmanirbhar’ India as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He gave the example of the success of Operation Flood which led to the establishment of the most successful cooperative institution in India, viz., Amul and stated that we should take inspiration from such initiatives and replicate them in every village. He felt that success of the cooperative movement lies in benefiting the last farmer in the most remote of locations.
Mr Amit Shah said the government led by Mr Modi has come up with several schemes for the benefit of the farmers through digital means. He said the Government is providing Rs 6000 to every farmer of the country. Apart from this, many initiatives have been taken for agricultural loans and crop insurance. He said that the agriculture budget of the UPA government was about Rs 22000 crore, which Mr Modi increased by six times to Rs 125000 crore.
Earlier, loans worth Rs 7 lakh crore were provided to the farmers, which has been increased to Rs 20 lakh crore by the Prime Minister Modi. Mr Shah said that the production of food grains in the country was 265 million tonnes, which has now reached 323 million tonnes. Wheat procurement was 251 lakh metric tonnes, which has increased to 433 lakh metric tonnes. Along with this, the MSP of wheat has been increased from Rs 1400 to Rs 2100 by the government led by Mr Modi. The government has increased the MSP of Mustard from Rs 3050 to Rs 5400.
Mr Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come up with more than 20 schemes to strengthen the Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS) in the country. He said that today IFFCO is working to strengthen cooperatives in the country through more than 3500 cooperative societies. He said that the Prime Minister has decided that by creating two lakh new Primary Agriculture Credit Society in the country, PACS will be formed in every panchayat.