improve efficiency of operations of the cooperatives. lack of member participation 21. the cooperative structure should be member - driven. however, members having a voting right do not take active part or show interest in the affairs of the cooperatives since the control and management is vested in a few members. besides, depositors, whose money is intermediated by the cooperatives, have no voting right or any say in the management. not keeping pace with changes 22. cooperatives have been unable to adapt themselves to the rapid pace of changes in the financial sector. cooperatives have lagged behind in designing of new products and services and in adoption of technology and advanced management practices that have changed the face of financial sector in the post economic - liberalization era. as a result, they are unable to cope with the stiff competition posed by other banks in rural finance and retain their market share. duality of control 23. under the constitution, ‘ cooperation ’ is a state subject governed by the respective state cooperative societies acts. registration, incorporation, management, election, and audit are governed by the state acts. some aspects relating to banking activities are regulated and supervised by the reserve bank of india / nabard under the banking regulation act, 1949 ( as applicable to cooperative societies ). there is an urgent need to remove the overlapping controls and endowing functional autonomy and operational freedom to cooperatives. banking functions should be brought completely under the banking regulation act. the provisions of the banking regulation act should override the provisions of the state acts / bye - laws / rules which run counter to it. this will lead to clear demarcation of the areas of activities of cooperative banks. need for revival of the cooperative credit institutions 24. it is pertinent to mention that in the first place, india is a country with a population of more than 110 crore, of which around 70 crore reside in a little over 6 lakh villages. as there are a little over ninety two thousand pacs in the country, every 8th village, on an average, has an existing cooperative credit outlet. it is in this context that the role of cooperatives assumes importance. a number of committees were set up to suggest reforms in the sector. based on the recommendations of the vaidyanathan committee, the government of india rolled out in january 2006, a package for revival of the short - term rural co - operative credit structure. the task force also suggested wide - ranging reforms in the governance and management of stccs including crucial amendments to

yandraduth googoolye : the role of central banks in encouraging investment in housing address by mr yandraduth googoolye, first deputy governor of the bank of mauritius, at the annual conference of the african union for housing finance, flic en flac, 11 september 2013. * * * ladies and gentlemen a very good morning to you all. it gives me great pleasure to participate this morning in this annual conference of the african union for housing finance ( auhf ), being organised in collaboration with the mauritius housing company ltd ( mhc ). home ownership is one of the major aspirations of an individual. today, owning a house not only means having a shelter for the family. the house is a real asset that probably represents the largest investment undertaken by an individual during his lifetime. such a large sum of money may not initially be readily available for the average individual. it is primarily in this context that housing finance has been linked to the grant of credit facilities by banks and other mortgage institutions. investment in housing can be seen from different viewpoints. for a government interested in fulfilling its social mandate of facilitating access to decent housing for low - to middle - income families, the problem is finding the necessary resources to carry out public housing programs. let me set an aside here to dwell for a minute on the experience of mauritius where the government set up as early as 1963 an organism geared towards the provision of social housing. this organism evolved into the mauritius housing corporation ( mhc ), which is today the only finance institution – both in mauritius and rodrigues – that caters exclusively for the promotion of home ownership and the provision of housing finance. since july 2001, the mhc has been authorised to conduct deposit - taking business to finance its activities and is accordingly under the regulatory purview of the bank of mauritius. over the years, the mhc has been innovative. in addition to credit granted for housing projects, the company also provides architectural, technical, legal, insurance services, and accept deposits primarily for the purpose engaging the general public in savings for homeownership. more of this will be provided by the managing director of mhc. coming back to my main point, investment in housing, from the perspective of the household, is very often linked to the possibility of obtaining a loan at affordable terms. for the bank manager considering whether to grant a loan, the problem is how to expand the scope of financial services while managing risks appropriately. finally, from the