The National Federation of State Cooperative Banks (NAFSCOB) organised a two day conference from 20 March, on ‘Recent trends in Short Term Cooperative Credit Structure’ at the National Co-operative Union of India (NCUI), New Delhi. The two Alliance members, NAFSCOB and NCUI, were supported in this conference by the National Bank for Rural Development or NABARD which works closely with the Reserve Bank of India in determining several derivates of the Indian rural economy including rural credit. The inaugural session was graced by Mr. Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya, Minister of State for Agriculture; Dr. Chandrapal Singh Yadav, President, NCUI; Mr. Dileep Sanghani, Chairman, NAFSCOB; and Dr. Dinesh, CEO NCUI. Dr. Jean Louis Bancel, Chairperson, International Co-operative Banking Association and Alliance Board member, delivered the keynote address where he stressed on finding ways to renew the relationship between Indian co-operative banks and civil society to ensure the former’s sustainability. Dr. Bancel, who also chairs the ICA Principles Committee, suggested that co-operatives must leverage India’s position at global financial platforms such as the G-20 and the BRICS and that, there must be a healthy influx of technology, even in co-operative banking, to support a billion dreams! Europe, he added, is continuing the consolidation drive through mergers and amalgamations among co-operatives as well as experimenting with the so called social banking, to face market competition. Mr. Bhima Subrahmanyam, MD, NAFSCOB delivered the conference recommendations.