Ministry of Cooperation and NABARD are organizing a Regional Workshop in Jaipur to strengthen India's cooperative ecosystem. The workshop focuses on enhancing cooperative banking infrastructure, financial inclusion through cooperatives, and implementation of government schemes via cooperative networks. This initiative aligns with the government's vision of doubling farmers' income and promoting rural development. The collaboration emphasizes leveraging NABARD's expertise in rural banking with MoC's policy framework to create robust cooperative financial institutions across regions.

This Regional Workshop represents a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Cooperation (established in 2021) and NABARD to revitalize India's cooperative banking sector. Cooperatives serve 290 million members across the country, making them crucial for financial inclusion in rural areas. The workshop addresses key challenges: strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), enhancing digital infrastructure, and improving governance standards in cooperative banks. NABARD's role becomes critical as it supervises State Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks, while also funding cooperative development through its Cooperative Development Fund. The Jaipur location is strategic as Rajasthan has over 10,000 PACS and strong cooperative networks. This initiative supports the government's Sahakar se Samriddhi vision, focusing on making cooperatives vehicles for economic empowerment. The workshop will likely discuss NABARD's refinancing schemes, digitization of PACS, and integration with national payment systems. For rural India, where formal banking penetration remains limited, strengthened cooperatives can bridge the credit gap, especially for small and marginal farmers who constitute 86% of agricultural households.