Announcement of Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill Welcomed by India’s Top Cooperative IFFCO

New Delhi India’s Minister of Cooperation and Home Affairs Amit Shah said that after 75 years of independence, the country is getting its first cooperative university. He said that the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill 2025 will strengthen the rural economy, develop the ecosystem of self-employment and small entrepreneurship, increase social inclusion and will increase opportunities to set new standards in innovation and research. 

Shah said that in a way, the whole country will get a new cooperative leadership inspired by the spirit of cooperation and equipped with modern education.

Responding to this, Dr. Udai Shanker Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO hailed the passing of the bill as a historic step for the development of cooperatives. “This is a very big step for Indian agriculture, farmers, and rural development. This will further strengthen our villages.”

In view of the development and expansion of the cooperative sector, trained human resources are needed and Tribhuvan Sahkari University will work to fulfill this need. After the formation of a cooperative university, its diploma and degree holders will get jobs. Through this university, a big contribution will be made to the domestic as well as global value chain. New age cooperative culture will also start from this university which will embody the spirit of professional management. A standardized curriculum will be developed for this university under the guidance of the Ministry of Cooperation in consultation with cooperatives across the nation. 

Professional management of the cooperatives through specialized courses in cooperative marketing will enable cooperatives to market their products at the global stage, this will ultimately improve the overall output and revenue of the cooperative sector with the spirit of ‘Local to Global’. 

Cooperative principles and cooperative activities will be expanded. The cooperative sector will benefit from new technology, reaching out swathes of people who were left untouched by the cooperative sector. This will also strengthen the rural economy.

The Union Minister of Cooperation said that the university will award diplomas and degrees. There will be an infusion of new blood in the cooperative movement after the university trains around 800,000 candidates for the coop sector.

Jeroen Douglas, the Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance, through a video message said that this is a step which will not only strengthen the Indian Cooperative movement but through knowledge exchange and training programs this step will act as a cornerstone in the Global Cooperative movement and will add to its strength. He thanks the Indian Leadership for making this announcement this year i.e., 2025 which has been designated as the ‘International Year of Cooperatives’ by the United Nations.