Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha launched two major initiatives of Cooperative department- Diploma in Cooperative Management and MoU between Cooperatives and Department of Tribal Affairs, at Raj Bhawan, today.
Congratulating the stakeholders, the Lt Governor said the initiatives will strengthen the cooperative spirit in the UT and transform the lives of the tribal community.
“Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’ will guide the social and economic transformation and provide vital support for growth of agriculture sector. The new initiatives also aimed at improving cooperatives efficiency and to meet the requirements of rural economy,” observed the Lt Governor.
Emphasizing on promoting cooperative education and training, the Lt Governor said the introduction of Diploma in Cooperative Management will provide opportunities to Junior Officers, members of Cooperative Societies, FPOs and officials of other allied departments to acquire requisite skills to manage cooperative business and facilitate the process of human resource development in J&K.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the positive impact of convergence of schemes of Cooperative Department & Tribal Affairs Department to achieve the twin objectives of equitable and sustainable rural development.
“The Memorandum of Understanding between Department of Cooperatives and Department of Tribal Affairs will ensure that tribal cooperatives, Van Dhan Vikas Kendras avail benefits of different schemes and enable economic development and prosperity of tribal population,” said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor shared the Union Territory administration’s efforts to strengthen the cooperative sector to accelerate the grassroot development and capacity building.
“We have taken several steps to ensure effective on-ground implementation of rural development schemes and to empower the targeted sections. Resource availability for growth of cooperatives is another area where steps have been taken to ensure credit access to people and support services for equitable distribution of benefits,” observed the Lt Governor.
More than 1000 cooperatives have been established in various sectors. An amount of Rs 366 crore was allocated for the revival of Jammu, Baramulla and Anantnag Central Cooperative Banks, besides Apex Level Dairy Federation has been established in Jammu Kashmir after 27 years, he added.
The Lt Governor further stressed on expansion of the cooperative sector and connecting more farmers with Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society. Establishment of PACS in every panchayat should be our prime objective, the Lt Governor added.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor also unveiled the logo of the Cooperative Department.
Yasha Mudgul, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Cooperatives Department and Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary to the Government, Tribal Affairs Department gave a detailed briefing on the new initiatives launched today and how the collaboration of Cooperative Department and Tribal Affairs Department will benefit the tribal community.
The Lt Governor appraised the action plans and the awareness programmes at various levels, besides measures initiated for computerization of PACS.
The Lt Governor also enquired about the training modules of the diploma course. It was informed that 50 candidates have been enrolled for the 40 weeks Diploma course in Cooperative Management through the Centre for Cooperative Management Jammu.
Head of Departments and senior officers were present on the occasion.