Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar unveils NCDC’s Sahakar Pragya Initiative

The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on November 24, 2020, unveiled the Sahakar Pragya Initiative which is launched by NCDC- National Cooperative Development Corporation.

Under the latest initiative, 45 training modules and 18 regional training centres for primary cooperatives have been launched. The NCDC will be responsible to run these training centres all over the country along with Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research and Development- LINAC.

While speaking at the event, the Union Agriculture Minister appreciated NCDC’s efforts and advised officials for empowering farmers in the primary cooperative societies through innovative and dedicated training programmes.

सहकार प्रज्ञा - एनसीडीसी के अंतर्गत लक्ष्मणराम इनामदार नेशनल एकेडमी फार कोआपरेटिव रिसर्च एंड डेवलपमेंट (LINAC) के 18 क्षेत्रीय प्रशिक्षण केंद्रों एवं प्राथमिक सहकारी समितियों के लिए 45 प्रशिक्षण मॉड्यूल का अनावरण किया। pic.twitter.com/eUSlcWGYwa

— Narendra Singh Tomar (@nstomar) November 24, 2020

About Sahakar Pragya Initiative:

Sahakar Pragya is a part of a series of government launched initiatives that are taken up by NCDC for strengthening India’s cooperative societies. Earlier, Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel was also launched. Its purpose was to encourage youngsters to get more involved in the cooperative movement.

Objective:

The training modules under Sahakar Pragya Initiative aim at imparting knowledge as well as organisational skills. They also attempt to prepare the primary cooperative societies all over the country to be able to play a major role in the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Significance of Cooperatives:

As per the statement by NCDC, currently, India has a huge network of over 8.5 lakh cooperative societies with around 290 million members. Nearly 95 percent of Indian farmers are members of at least one cooperative society.

Cooperatives lend strength to the farmers in minimizing risks in agriculture as well as allied sectors and also act as a shield against exploitation by traders. Cooperatives play a major role in Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Farmers training through LINAC:

Ever since LINAC was set up in 1985, it has trained more than 30,000 people from cooperative societies. Sundeep K Nayak, NCDC Managing Director, informed that LINAC has drawn out a plan to train about 5,000 farmers in cooperative societies in a year.

The 45 dedicated training modules will equip the cooperative societies in running their affairs in absolute professional business terms of the market economy.