Scheme to Promote Young Entrepreneurs in Cooperatives

• 15 Nov 2018

Union Agriculture Ministry launched National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC’s) youth-friendly scheme ‘Yuva Sahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme’ for attracting youth to cooperative business ventures.

• The Yuva Sahakar-Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme will encourage cooperatives to venture into new and innovative areas.
• NCDC has created a dedicated Rs 1000 crore ‘Cooperative Start-up and Innovation Fund (CSIF)’. It would have more incentives (funding of up to 80% as against 70% for others) for cooperatives of North Eastern region, Aspirational Districts and cooperatives with women or SC or ST or Persons with Disabilities (PwD) members.
• The scheme envisages 2% less than the applicable rate of interest on term loan for the project cost up to Rs 3 crore including 2 years moratorium on payment of principal.
• All types of cooperatives in operation for at least one year are eligible.

National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)

• NCDC is a statutory corporation set up under National Cooperative Development Corporation Act , 1962.
• The objectives of NCDC are planning and promoting programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock and certain other notified commodities and services on cooperative principles.
• NCDC functions through its Head Office at New Delhi and multiple Regional Offices.
• The NCDC has the unique distinction of being the sole statutory organisation functioning as an apex financial and developmental institution exclusively devoted to cooperative sector.
• NCDC is a major financial institution for cooperatives, and has recently started Mission Sahakar 22, which aims to double farmers’ income by 2022.

More about Cooperatives

• The United Nations General Assembly had declared the year 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives.This recognized the contribution that Cooperatives make to social and economic development through poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
• The role of Cooperatives has acquired new dimension in the changing scenario of globalization and liberalization. The Government of India enacted the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act in 2002 and National Policy for Cooperatives was also formulated in 2002 to provide support for promotion and development of cooperatives as autonomous, independent and democratic organizations so that they can play their due role in the socio-economic development of the country.
• The Policy further aimed at reduction of regional imbalances and strengthening of cooperative education, training and human resource development for professionalisation of cooperative management.

Provisions of Indian Constitution related to Cooperatives

• The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB right after Part IXA (Municipals) regarding the cooperatives working in India.
• The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Art. 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution. This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens.
• A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”