The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu graced the golden jubilee celebration of the Shri Warana Women Cooperative Group at Warananagar, Kolhapur, Maharashtra today (September 2, 2024).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that cooperation is the best medium for making good use of the strength inherent in society. Principles of cooperation follow the spirit of justice, unity, and fraternity envisaged in the Constitution. When people of different classes and ideologies unite for cooperation, they get the benefit of social diversity. Cooperatives have played an important role in the economic development of the country. Household brands like Amul and Lijjat Papad are the examples of such cooperatives.
The President said that if today India is the world’s largest milk producer, cooperative groups have made a significant contribution to this success. In almost all states, cooperatives mainly produce and distribute milk products. Not only milk, cooperative institutions are playing an important role in areas like fertilizer, cotton, handloom, housing, edible oil, and sugar.
The President said that cooperative institutions have made a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, food security, and management of natural resources. But in these rapidly changing times, they need to change themselves. They should use technology as much as possible and also make the management more professional. She noted that many cooperatives are facing problems like lack of capital and resources, governance and management, and low participation. She said that connecting more and more youth to cooperatives can be important in this direction. Youth can transform those institutions by incorporating technology in governance and management. She advised cooperative institutions to explore new areas like organic farming, storage capacity building, and eco-tourism.
The President said that the real secret of success of any enterprise is its association with the common people. That’s why a democratic system and transparency are important for the success of cooperatives. In cooperative institutions, the interests of their members should be paramount. It should always be kept in mind that no cooperative institution should become a means of personal interest and profit-making for any individual, otherwise, the very purpose of cooperative will be lost. There should be real cooperation in cooperatives rather than anyone’s monopoly.
The President urged the gathering, comprising mostly women, to understand the importance of education, learn new technologies, give importance to environment conservation in daily life, help the needy, and always be ready to contribute to the development of the country. She said that our individual and collective efforts will make India reach a higher position on the world stage.
