Gujarat CM to chair Cooperative Leaders' workshop in Gandhinagar on Aug 20

Gandhinagar, Aug 19 (IANS) As part of the celebrations of the International Year of Cooperatives-2025, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will chair a workshop of cooperative leaders in Gandhinagar on August 20.

The event, organised by the state’s Cooperation, Animal Husbandry, Cow-Breeding and Fisheries Department, aims to strengthen inclusive, sustainable, and resilient cooperative institutions in line with this year’s global theme, “Co-operatives Build the Better World.”

The workshop is being held to give shape to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation), under the guidance of Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.

The event will take place at Gujarat National Law University at 11 am. Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary will attend as the chief guest, while Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel, Forest and Environment Minister Mulu Bera, Minister of State for Cooperation Jagdish Vishwakarma, and Minister of State for Forest and Environment Mukesh Patel will also be present.

Prominent cooperative leaders, including Ajay Patel, Chairman of Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, Dilip Sanghani, Chairman of IFFCO, and Ashok Chaudhary, Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, will take part.

Directors of district cooperative banks, district milk unions, GUJCOMASOL, and Kheti Bank, along with other cooperative leaders from across the state, are expected to join the day-long workshop.

Cooperatives are the backbone of Gujarat’s rural economy, generating billions in annual revenue and shaping the state’s identity as the “cooperative capital of India.”

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) alone clocks a turnover of over Rs 55,000 crore, making it the world’s largest dairy cooperative, while institutions like IFFCO, GUJCOMASOL, and Gujarat State Cooperative Bank add significantly through fertilisers, credit, and marketing networks.

With more than 84,000 cooperative societies and over 1.5 crore members, the sector drives prosperity in agriculture, dairying, fisheries, and rural credit, embodying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motto “Sahkar se Samriddhi.”

Beyond revenue, cooperatives hold social and political relevance, empowering small farmers, shaping grassroots leadership, and serving as a model of inclusive economic growth.

--IANS

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