Cooperatives — dairy giants like Amul, sugar mills, and village credit societies — have organised rural India for a century, spanning ~8 lakh bodies and ~29 crore members. In 2021 a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation was created to modernise them.
Cooperatives · Sahakar
Cooperatives · Sahakar
Cooperatives — from Amul to village credit societies — have long been a backbone of rural India, with around 8 lakh cooperatives and 29 crore members. In 2021 India created a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation under the motto 'Sahakar se Samriddhi' (prosperity through cooperation) to modernise them: computerising 63,000 village credit societies, giving them new lines of business, and setting up national co-ops for organics, seeds and exports. This timeline traces those reforms.
8 lakh
Cooperatives in India
29 cr
Cooperative members
63,000
PACS being computerised
Cooperative movement
2021
Ministry of Cooperation created
A dedicated Union Ministry of Cooperation is set up under the motto 'Sahakar se Samriddhi' to strengthen India's ~8 lakh cooperatives and their ~29 crore members.
2022
PACS computerised & model bye-laws
2023
New national co-op bodies & law
2024
World's largest grain storage
2021
1milestones
20212024
Latest
Ministry of Cooperation created
A dedicated Union Ministry of Cooperation is set up under the motto 'Sahakar se Samriddhi' to strengthen India's ~8 lakh cooperatives and their ~29 crore members.
Why it matters Cooperatives let small farmers and rural producers pool resources and bargaining power — a proven, inclusive model for grassroots prosperity.
- Ministry of Cooperation (2021); ~8 lakh co-ops, ~29 cr members
- 63,000 PACS computerised; new national co-op societies
- Source: Ministry of Cooperation
History
Sahakar se Samriddhi
Reforms are computerising 63,000 village credit societies, giving them new businesses, and launching national co-ops for organics, seeds and exports. A plan for the world's largest grain-storage network runs through cooperative godowns.
How it works
Cooperatives are member-owned businesses — farmers, dairy producers or borrowers who jointly own and run an enterprise, from a village credit society to giants like Amul and IFFCO. They give small producers scale and a share of the profits. In 2021 India created a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation under the slogan 'Sahakar se Samriddhi' (prosperity through cooperation) to modernise this vast, often-neglected sector — starting by computerising the tens of thousands of primary village credit societies (PACS).
Outlook
The patient work ahead is turning legacy cooperatives into professional, transparent enterprises — strengthening governance and finances across lakhs of local bodies. New national-level multi-state cooperatives for seeds, organic produce and exports aim to give farmers a direct route to markets, while PACS are being computerised and expanded into new services (fuel, water, banking) so the village society becomes a broader rural business hub.
The road ahead
The patient work ahead is turning legacy cooperatives into professional, transparent enterprises — strengthening governance and finances across thousands of local bodies.
By the numbers
Ministry of Cooperation (2021); ~8 lakh cooperatives, ~29 crore members; 63,000 PACS being computerised. Source: Ministry of Cooperation.
Source: Ministry of Cooperation — cooperative reform milestones, 2021–2024.