Modi govt creates new Ministry of Cooperation ahead of cabinet reshuffle

The Narendra Modi government has created a new Ministry of Cooperation with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, an official statement said on Tuesday. Amid a strong buzz about a massive cabinet reshuffle exercise expected on Wednesday, the statement issued by the Cabinet Secretariat said the new ministry has been created for realising the vision of 'sahkar se samriddhi' (through cooperation to prosperity). Terming it a "historic move", the government said the ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.

A minister in charge for the new portfolio may be named on Wednesday. The official statement said the ministry will help deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots. "In our country, a cooperative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility," the government said. The ministry will work to streamline processes for 'ease of doing business' for cooperatives and enable development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS), it said.

The Union government has signalled its deep commitment to community-based developmental partnership, the statement said. Creation of a separate Ministry for Cooperation also fulfils the Budget announcement made by the Finance Minister, it said.