ICA-AP Participates in the Kerala Cooperative Expo 2025
The Kerala Cooperative Expo 2025, held from 21 to 30 April at Kanakakunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, showcased the vibrant diversity of cooperatives in the region and beyond. Organized in line with the UN International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2025) and the theme āCooperatives Build a Better World,ā the Expo attracted thousands of participants, including representatives from cooperatives, government bodies, and international organisations.
Mr. Ganesh Gopal, Lead – Environment & Agriculture participated in the Expo representing ICA-AP at one of the key seminar sessions on “The Constitutional Promise for Cooperatives,ā held on 28 April. It featured a distinguished panel of Government dignitaries, including Mr. K. N. Balagopal, Hon. Minister for Finance, Mr. K Rajan, Minister for Revenue, Adv. Gopalakrishna Kurup, Advocate General and other senior experts, including Dr. Vijoo Krishnan, Member-Polit Bureau, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) & General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Mr. P Santosh Kumar, Director of Legislation, ICA, and Prof. H.S. Shylendra, Faculty, IRMA.
Mr. Gopalās address at the session highlighted the historical and constitutional importance of cooperatives in India, drawing attention to key constitutional provisions such as Article 19(1)(c), which guarantees citizens the right to form cooperatives, the addition of Part IXB on cooperative regulations in 2013 and the Supreme Court judgement thereafter in 2021, and Article 43B, which mandates the stateās responsibility to promote cooperative principles. He emphasised that cooperatives are not just business entities but democratic, member-driven organisations that contribute significantly to economic and social development.
He also pointed out the role of cooperatives in addressing modern challenges, such as climate change, economic inequality, and digital transformation. “The promise that our constitution guarantees is more than just a right, it is a guarantee for economic democracy,” he remarked, highlighting the need for policy innovations that maintain the cooperative identity even in a rapidly changing world.
The seminar was a platform for exchanging insights on the cooperative movement’s future in Kerala and beyond. Participants from various sectors, including several ICA member representatives were also present, including Mr. Kishor Kumar, Chief Project Coordinator, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society Ltd. (ULCCS, Kerala), Mr. Suroto, CEO, INKUR Federation (Indonesia), Mr. Iosefo Koroidimuri, Director, Department of Cooperative Businesses (DCB, Fiji), Dr. S. Vineeth, MD, INDCOSERVE (Tamil Nadu), and members from NS Cooperative Hospital, Kollam (Kerala) who were engaged in various aspects of the Expo, like the 10-day long seminars and the stalls that were setup at the venue, the historic Kanakakunnu Palace in Trivandrum city.
The Registrar & Director at DCB, Government of Fiji, Mr. Koroidimuri and Mr. Gopal engaged in meetings and exposure visits facilitated by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies-Kerala (RCS-Kerala) and ULCCS, exploring opportunities for e-Governance, regulatory innovations, handicraft development, and cooperative-to-cooperative (C2C) exchanges.
The Kerala Cooperative Expo 2025 concluded with a closing ceremony featuring Mr. Satish Marathe, Director, Central Board, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Founder, Sahakar Bharati, as the Chief Guest, who lauded the stateās cooperative movement as a model for others to follow.
The ICA-APās active participation through its members, staff, and committee and the impactful contributions of its representatives further underscore the importance of cooperative principles and their constitutional foundation, not just in Kerala but across the Asia-Pacific region.