New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a series of review meetings here on national-level cooperative initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperative banking ecosystem, promoting organic products through cooperatives and expanding exports of cooperative products, according to an official statement.
The Union Minister took stock of the progress of various measures being undertaken to strengthen the cooperative banking sector through technology adoption, improved governance, cyber security, digital payments, common service platforms and enhanced service delivery.
Detailed discussions were held on the proposed Cooperative Bank of India (COBI) and its role in supporting the cooperative banking sector in the coming years, the statement said.
The meeting also took note of the work being undertaken for integration of MuleHunter.AI with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to further strengthen fraud risk management and cyber security capabilities within cooperative banks.
This initiative is expected to enhance the preparedness of cooperative banks against emerging digital threats and strengthen trust in digital cooperative banking services, the statement added.
Union Minister Amit Shah emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation among sectoral institutions and increase the participation of cooperative banks in common service platforms.
He highlighted the importance of robust cyber security frameworks, modern banking technology and sustainable business models for the cooperative banking sector.
The Union Minister emphasised that all Rural Cooperative Banks should become members of Sahakar Sarathi Private Limited (SSPL) and all Urban Cooperative Banks should become members of National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation Limited (NUCFDC), and should also avail services from these institutions.
He also underlined the important role of COBI, SSPL and NUCFDC in strengthening the cooperative banking sector in the coming days.
In a separate review of the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) and the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), Union Minister Amit Shah reviewed the activities and future roadmap of both organisations.
The review focused on membership expansion, engagement with member cooperatives and producers, business development initiatives, procurement and marketing of organic produce, strengthening of the national cooperative organic and export ecosystems, assessment of market opportunities and future growth strategies.
The Union Minister also reviewed plans for expansion through Central government agencies and rollout of the Co-op Mark, expansion into international markets and identification of emerging strategic opportunities to enhance the reach, visibility and global competitiveness of products from the cooperative sector.
During the meeting, it was emphasised that NCOL should scale up its procurement operations to source organic produce from a larger number of organic farmers across the country.
This would strengthen the organic ecosystem, enhance farmers’ incomes and promote sustainable agricultural practices across the country.
The review of NCEL focused on expanding market linkages in international markets for cooperative products with strong global competitiveness.
It was emphasised that NCEL should enhance business engagement with its member cooperatives, strengthen the national cooperative export ecosystem and work closely with various Ministries and Departments of the Union government to promote cooperative exports.
NCEL was also asked to actively identify and develop export opportunities for niche and value-added products, enabling cooperatives to access new markets and improve their global presence.
–IANS
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