Gandhinagar, Feb 16 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 250 crore of cooperative institutions and Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) at a national-level “Manthan Baithak” of the cooperative sector to be held on February 17.​

The conference, being organised in Gandhinagar, will bring together cooperation ministers from various States and Union Territories, along with senior secretaries-level officials.​

Gujarat Cooperation Minister Jitu Vaghani said the inauguration of projects worth more than Rs 250 crore would be a key highlight of the meeting.​

The inaugural session will be attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.​

Union Ministers of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal and Murlidhar Mohol are also scheduled to attend the conference.​

According to Vaghani, the Manthan Baithak will deliberate on the establishment of 2 lakh new multipurpose primary agricultural credit societies (MPACS) and dairy and fisheries cooperatives across the country.​

Discussions will also cover the construction of modern warehouses under a nationwide grain storage initiative, the financial strengthening of cooperative sugar mills, challenges faced by cooperative banks, the development of a National Cooperative Database, and the computerisation of institutions.​

He said a special report on best practices adopted by various states and on the International Year of Cooperatives-2025 will be released during the event.​

Initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Cooperation and transformative measures implemented in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh will also be presented.​

Gujarat will showcase its “Cooperation Among the Cooperatives” initiative during the second session.​

Under the programme, 33 lakh new bank accounts have been opened, 19 lakh livestock rearers have been issued RuPay debit cards, 22 lakh farmers have been linked to Kisan Credit Cards, and 12,624 micro ATMs are facilitating around 22 lakh digital transactions every month.​

An exhibition featuring more than 20 leading cooperative institutions, including NDDB, NFDB, NCDC, IFFCO, NCEL, NCOL, BBSSL, Amul (GCMMF), Banas Dairy, Gujcomasol, and Gujarat State Co-operative Bank, will also be inaugurated at the venue ahead of the conference.​

–IANS

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