On 26 August, ICA-AP and Andhra Pradesh Mahila Abhivruddhi Society (APMAS) in collaboration with Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), ICA Domus Trust and DGRV, Germany organised a multistakeholder consultation on “Autonomy and Independence of Cooperatives in South India” at the APMAS Training Centre in Hyderabad.

The consultation was organised in the light of the recent policy and legal developments in the cooperative sector in India, the establishment of a Ministry of Cooperation, formation of a National Policy for cooperatives, establishment of a National Cooperative University, emergence of newer forms of collectives including farmer producer organizations (FPOs), etc. It was a follow-up event for the National Consultation held at IRMA, Gujarat in September 2021 that also came out with the Anand Declaration.

The consultation looked at the role of the State as an enabler and facilitator in development of these democratically owned organisations and therefore opined the role played by them as key to their development as business enterprises, while maintaining the autonomy and independence of cooperatives. The consultation deliberated the following three aspects:

• What ails the cooperative sector in terms of ease of doing business?
• What are the policy recommendations to the Union Ministry of Cooperatives and the Departments of Cooperation in the South Indian States?
• How can cooperatives in India be reoriented as competitive business enterprises in the 21st century?

The inaugural session had the organisers speak and set the context, background and opening remarks for the consultation. Mr. C.S. Reddy, CEO, APMAS delivered the welcome remarks, and presented the consultation format and objectives. Mr. Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP exhorted the need to be cognisant about dimensions that distort cooperative autonomy in the country relating to the blind agreement or concurrence that is detrimental for the independence of cooperatives. Prof. Shambu Prasad, IRMA made a brief presentation to set the context the consultation. Mr. Kondur

Ravinder Rao, Chairman, National Federation of State Co-operative Banks Ltd. (NAFSCOB) delivered the keynote address.

The first panel on Legal and Policy Options for Autonomy and Independence of Cooperatives had a wide array of experts including Government bureaucrats, regulators and veteran cooperators as panelists – Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan (Founder President, Lok Satta), Mr. Babu Ahmed IAS (Registrar of Cooperative Societies and MD, AP Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Ltd.), Mr. A Praveen Reddy (President, Mulkanoor Co-operative Credit and Marketing Society Ltd), Mr. P Santosh Kumar (Director-Legislation, International Cooperative Alliance, Brussels, and Dr. Nethi Muralidhar (MD, Telangana State Cooperative Apex Bank - TSCAB).

The consultation also looked at the existence and passage of liberal cooperative laws in various states of the country - Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jammu & Kashmir (now Union Territory) to enable citizens to establish institutions defined and designed by them. Among the seven states, two southern Indian states, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, were among the early ones to enact forward looking cooperative legislations, which were:

• The Andhra Pradesh Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act, 1995
• The Karnataka Souharda Sahakara Act, 1997 (effective from the year 2001 onwards)

The consultation looked into other forms of enterprises such as FPOs registered either as cooperatives or as companies registered under the Companies Act 2013 and whose structure follows “the ICA Statement of Cooperative Identity” which includes definition, values and principles which has been recently created as an option for collective enterprises across the country to function under the ambit of the Union Government.

It was observed that many announcements and policy decisions have been made in recent times to align with and further the Government’s motto for the cooperative sector, Sahakar se Sammridhi, such as promoting exports from cooperatives, furthering the ‘Make in India’ campaign, etc.

Mr. Kumar reflected upon international best practices, international legal and policy instruments, and the evolution of cooperative law across the globe in line with the cooperative values and principles. He discussed how the State and the National Governments have had a significant role to play in furthering the form and cause of cooperatives as collectively owned values-based organisations. He also exhorted the need for institutions such as IRMA to include cooperative law as part of their academic curriculum.

The second panel on sharing of experiences by organizations which have promoted member-owned and governed autonomous institutions had panelists like Mr. V. Vivekanandan (Director, FishMARC), Mr. Marz Korbinian (DGRV), Mr. G.V. Krishnagopal (CEO, ALC India), Ms. Rama Lakshmi (Lead Consultant, APMAS), Ms. Revathi (Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF - Sahavikasa), Ms. Raghava Devi (Vice President, Stree Nidhi, Telangana).

The session was Chaired by Dr. W.R. Reddy IAS (Rtd.) (Former Director General, NIRD & PR) who shared examples of the Mulkanoor cooperative and some from his prior experience working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and of his role as former Managing Director, MILMA, the State-level diary federation in Kerala.

Mr. Vivekanandan shared his vast experience working in the fisheries sector with small scale fishermen. He mentioned that they were organised initially as fishermen societies and have had limited registration as cooperatives but however, recently they have registered in Producers organisations.

Mr. Krishnagopal shared his reflections from the promotion of different cooperatives through CDF. He observed that the weavers’ and dairy cooperatives have been more successful than agriculture cooperatives and systematic investment plans have helped provide the required support through the members. The inadequate surplus has been a main issue; he mentioned that the operational self- sustainability must be ensured from first day since the establishment of a cooperative.

Ms. Ramalakshmi discussed about the significance of SHGs and their achievements. She lauded how it was possible to make the Sector Own Control and how piloting of SHGs and their federations were possible with the support of DGRV. It was opined that by design, the SHGs must be in profit from the first day. It was also observed that 31% of SHGs are in losses as per the audit and the reasons for the same being: weak leadership, mis-utilization of funds, and members’ contribution is inappropriate according to the scheme. Introducing standardized reporting systems and orientation to the SHGs is required.

Mr. Korbinian reflected upon the long association that DGRV, Germany has with the cooperative movement in India and especially with partners in South India, like APMAS. He appreciated the hard work of many cooperators who stabilised the cooperative movement in India and mentioned that several committed experts and organisations have been trying to bring about tangible social change and economic development. If they all work together, the institutional quality of the cooperative ecosystem can be improved further, he said.

Ms. Revathi and Ms. Raghava Devi shared their experiences running and observing well-managed collectives and groups from the grassroots.

The speakers reflected that though one cannot change the politics within India, one can insulate oneself from politics through our own organizations. It was mentioned a serious introspection and deliberation to understand how to address the problems of SHGs’ inefficiency is to be done.

Mr. C.S. Reddy explained that an amount of Rs. 58 Lakh is being provided to each FPO under the particular Central Sector Scheme to develop 10,000 FPOs in India and Dr. W.R. Reddy stated that the government is promoting FPOs indiscriminately as there is no evidence-based research to ensure that this model is successful in the country. It was also mentioned that the possible intervention could focus on Panchayats i.e., developing Gram Panchayat Development Plans and implementing them and that whether the bureaucracy created by the ministries is a boon or bane.

This was followed by a facilitated discussion on the consultation objectives and was chaired by Mr. C.S. Reddy. Mr. Rama Reddy, Founder Trustee, CDF and a veteran cooperator shared his remarks and Mr. Shripad Bhalerao IAS (Rtd.) and Mr. Alex Varghese IAS, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Govt of Kerala (RCS-Kerala) also shared their perspectives. The session also touched upon the developmental initiatives planned by the Ministry of Cooperation for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country, ranging from computerisation, modernisation of scope, generating employment and increasing the number of PACS from the present 63,000 functional PACS to 300,000 entities.

The National policy seeks to “deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots and develop a cooperative based economy model including focusing on Make in India”. Therefore, the contribution and development of cooperatives from this lens of national macroeconomic development is also to be observed. It was mentioned that more discussion around the impact and relevance of cooperatives formed under liberal laws and new forms of cooperatives is needed to create a level playing field for cooperatives vis-à-vis other forms of enterprises.

The experts and cooperators who gathered at the consultation also called for a detailed deliberation to present views before the Ministry of Cooperation as inputs from a group of professionals, individuals and cooperative representatives to be considered while framing national policy, regulations and legal reform.

The way forward and closing remarks were delivered by Mr. Ganesh Gopal, Lead – Entrepreneurship Development, ICA-AP and Mr. K Madhava Rao IAS (Rtd.), former Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh & presently Chairman, APMAS.

The regional consultation for South India was successful in taking up both issues pertaining to autonomy and independence from the policy-legal lens as well as very specific issues faced by cooperatives relevant both at regional and national levels.