Lok Sabha Question No. 624 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-03
Subject: National Cooperation Policy, 2025
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 624 ANSWERED ON 03 rd  FEBRUARY, 2026

## National Cooperation Policy, 2025

## 624. Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva:

Will the Minister of Cooperation (सहकाįरता मंũी) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  identified  specific  legal  and  regulatory  gaps  across States/UTs that necessitate amendments to their respective Cooperative Societies Acts for achieving the objectives outlined under the National Cooperation Policy, 2025;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  any  timeline  has  been  set  for  achieving  real-time  integration  of  State-level cooperative databases with the National Cooperative Database (NCD), if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  steps  being  taken  to  promote  inclusivity  in  the  cooperative  sector,  particularly regarding the participation of women, youth, SC/ST members and weaker sections?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकाįरता मंũी (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

- (a) No Sir
- (b) Nil, in view of the (a) above.
- (c) The Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) developed a standard API (Application Programming Interface) for States to fetch the entire data of cooperative societies of the State from the NCD portal to their respective RCS portals, and shared the Standard API Specification Document and database schema with States on 27.05.2025. Subsequently, the Ministry shared a document on Push APIs (End Point APIs) for live, event-driven data pushing from RCS portals to the NCD Portal, enabling real-time updates and new registration data, on 22.09.2025.  To  further  clarify  the  process,  an  advisory  along  with  a  comprehensive checklist  was  issued  to  all  States  /  UTs  on  14.11.2025.  As  per  the  integration  plan,

States/UTs need to ensure the development of reverse/pull API at their end and complete RCS computerization in accordance with the checklist for successful integration with the NCD portal. As of 20.01.2026, the States of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Mizoram have completed integration with the NCD portal .

- (d) The Following steps have been  taken to  ensure greater participation  of  women,  youth, Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and vulnerable sections in the Cooperative sector-
1. The  Multi-State  Cooperative Societies (MSCS)  (Amendment) Act &  Rules, 2023 have  been  notified  on  03.08.2023  and  04.08.2023,  respectively  to  strengthen governance,  enhance  transparency,  increase  accountability  and  reform  electoral process,  etc.in  the  Multi  State  Cooperative  Societies  by  supplementing  existing legislation and incorporating the provisions of Ninety-seventh Constitutional Amendment.

To increase the representation of Women and Scheduled Castes/Tribes in the boards of  Multi-State  Co-operative  societies,  provision for  reservation  of  two  seats  for women and one seat for SC or ST in the Board of multi-State cooperative societies have been made.

2. Provisions  have  also  been  made  to  make  the  membership  of  Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) more inclusive and broad-based, giving adequate representation to women and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. So far, 32 States/ UTs have adopted Model Bye-laws or their existing bye-laws are in line with Model Bye-laws.
3. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is taking multiple steps to enhance  the  participation  of  women,  youth,  Scheduled  Castes/Tribes  and  other vulnerable sections in the cooperative sector, which are detailed as under:
- I. NCDC  operates  dedicated  schemes  such  as  Nandini  Sahakar,  Swayam  Shakti Sahakar,  Ayushman  Sahakar  and  Yuva  Sahakar,  which  provide  concessional finance, interest subvention and start-up support to women-led, youth-led, SC/ST and innovative cooperatives. The details are as under :
- i. During  2024-25,  assistance  of  ₹1,355.61  crore  was  disbursed  to  women cooperatives  benefiting  over  41  lakh  women  members.  Cumulatively  as  on 31.03.2025, NCDC has disbursed financial assistance of ₹7,781.97 crore for the development of cooperative societies exclusively promoted by women.
- ii. Schemes  for  SC/ST  cooperatives  provide  support  for  marketing,  working capital and infrastructure creation, during FY 2024-25, an amount of ₹0.18 crore was disbursed to SC cooperatives and ₹29.63 crore to ST cooperatives. As on 31.03.2025, cumulative disbursements of ₹323.52 crore  for SC  cooperatives and ₹5308.02 crore for ST cooperatives.

Further, NCDC supports weaker section cooperatives in fisheries, livestock, handloom, sericulture and labour sectors, benefiting lakhs of members which includes SC, ST, Women members. NCDC has introduced sector-specific schemes and focused products to align with the evolving needs of the cooperative sector, with special emphasis on women empowerment, digitization of cooperatives, and rural healthcare.

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