The Punjab government is looking at the possibility of a synergy between the corporate sector and the rural cooperative societies to present a new economic order for development.
A beginning has already been made in this direction with major corporate houses offering 25 to 30% discount on essential items to cooperative societies. For example, tractor manufacturer Escorts has offered a 25% cut on all its models to cooperative societies.
Punjab cooperation minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh told FE, ?Rural cooperatives have a collective bargaining power that individuals do not.? He said membership of rural cooperative societies in Punjab was more than 50 lakh and this number could translate into immense bargaining power with any corporate house.
To bring the focus back on the cooperative movement and to revive the credit system, the state will hold the first national conference on the revival of the rural cooperative credit structure from February 9 to 11. President of the International Cooperative Alliance Ivano Barbaini is slated to inaugurate the conference. Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal will be the chief guest at the inaugural function, which will be attended by cooperation ministers, secretaries of different state governments, chairmen and managing directors of agricultural rural development banks and the apex cooperative banks, among others.
The minister said the conference would deliberate on issues relating to the problems and challenges faced by the rural cooperative credit structure. It would discuss measures as well as policy adjustments need to make cooperative credit institutions central to providing rural credit at affordable rates of interest.