Growing Power Prime Minister reviews the progress of the cooperative sector and emphasized the need for partnerships with global cooperative organizations to expand the Indian cooperative sector
Our Bureau
New Delhi
Noting that India now thinks big, sets high targets and delivers big results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India has emerged as a driving force propelling global growth. Speaking at the Republic Plenary Summit 2025, PM Modi highlighted the country’s progress in sectors such as solar energy.
He said the world today is declaring that this is India’s century. “India’s remarkable achievements have sparked new aspirations and expectations globally…India has now emerged as a driving force propelling global growth forward,” he said.
PM Modi said that over the last decade, more than Rs 42 lakh crore has been directly transferred to the bank accounts of the poor through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
“Every rupee sent from Delhi is credited directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts without any intermediaries. Ten years ago, India had an insignificant solar energy capacity. Today the nation stands proudly among the top five countries in the world in terms of solar energy capacity,” he said.
He said 18 years ago, in 2007, India’s annual GDP stood at Rs one lakh crore, representing the total economic activity for an entire year. “However, today, the same level of activity is achieved within just a single quarter. This remarkable transformation highlights the rapid pace of economic growth in present-day India. After 65 years of independence, India was the 11th largest economy in the world. In just a decade, we have become the fifth largest economy. And with the same speed, we are going to become the third largest economy.
The Prime Minister also referred to his remarks to bring one lakh youth into politics who are “first timers”. “I have been saying for the past few days that I have to bring 1 lakh youth into politics…Those who will go to vote in 2029, do not know what the headlines of newspapers used to be before 2014. They do not know that scams of 10-12 lakh crore used to happen. And when they will go to vote, they will not have anything for comparison,” he said.
The Prime Minister said his government has opened up the space sector to young innovators. “When we made this decision, it didn’t get much attention. But today, there are over 250 space startups in the country. These startups are now creating rockets. A similar change has also happened in the mapping sector,” he said.
Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress of the cooperative sector and emphasized the need for partnerships with global cooperative organizations to expand the Indian cooperative sector.
PM Modi held discussions on promoting “Shakar Se Samruddhi” bringing transformation through technological advancements in the sector, plans to increase the participation of youth and women in cooperatives, and the various initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a release.
The Prime Minister also stressed promoting organic products through cooperative organizations.
He also suggested focusing on export markets and developing a soil testing model through cooperatives to improve agricultural practices. PM Modi highlighted the importance of integrating UPI with Rupa KCC cards to facilitate financial transactions and emphasized the need for healthy competition among cooperative organizations.
He further added that young graduates should be encouraged to contribute, and Cooperative organizations should be ranked based on their performance, so as to promote competition and growth simultaneously.
During the meeting, the PM was briefed about the National Cooperation Policy and key achievements of the Ministry of Cooperation over the past three and a half years, the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
Furthermore, the policy endeavors to deepen the grassroots impact of cooperatives and significantly enhance the contribution of the cooperative sector to the overall development of the country.
Since its inception, the Ministry has undertaken 60 initiatives across seven key areas to promote and strengthen the cooperative movement. These initiatives include the digitization of cooperative institutions through the National Cooperative Database and Computerization Projects, as well as the strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
As a result, there has been diversification in cooperative businesses, additional income generation, increased opportunities for cooperatives, and improved accessibility of government schemes in rural areas. Annual targets have also been set for the formation of these cooperatives.
To promote cooperative education, training and research and to provide skilled professionals, a Bill to convert IRMA Anand into “Tribhuvan Cooperative University” and make it an Institution of National Importance has been introduced in the Parliament.
