Union Home Minister Amit Shah Addresses 4th Anniversary Event of Ministry of Cooperation

Anand, Gujarat , July 6, 2025 – Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah marked the 4th anniversary of the Ministry of Cooperation and the 150th birth anniversary year of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in a grand event held in Anand, Gujarat. He launched multiple landmark cooperative projects aimed at strengthening India’s dairy and cooperative sectors.

Speaking at the event organized by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Amit Shah emphasized the deep roots of cooperation in India’s society, tracing it back to Vedic times, and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for institutionalizing this legacy through the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation in 2021.

Major Announcements and Inaugurations by Amit Shah:

• Launched the Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited, a newly formed multi-state cooperative body.

• Unveiled the federation’s official logo.

• Virtually inaugurated the Amul Chocolate Plant expansion at Mogar, increasing production capacity from 30 to 60 tonnes per day.

• Inaugurated the state-of-the-art Amul Cheese Plant at Khatraj, developed at a cost of ₹260 crore.

• Dedicated NDDB’s Ready-to-Use Culture (RUC) Plant costing ₹45 crore.

• Inaugurated the new NCDFI office building, Maniben Patel Bhawan, built at a cost of ₹32 crore.

• Laid the foundation stone of the new NDDB headquarters building in Anand.

Key Dignitaries Present:

• Bhupendrabhai Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat

• Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Union Ministers of State for Cooperation

• S.P. Singh Baghel, MoS for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying

• Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Union Cooperation Secretary

60 Initiatives, 5 Pillars of Cooperation

Highlighting the Ministry’s progress, Shri Amit Shah said 60 major initiatives have been taken in four years, anchored around five core principles:

1. People – Benefits reach the grassroots level

2. PACS – Strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies

3. Platform – Building digital and national platforms for cooperatives

4. Policy – Member-first policy framework, including fair profit distribution

5. Prosperity – Empowering over 56 lakh women in dairy cooperatives, generating ₹80,000 crore in turnover, expected to exceed ₹1 lakh crore next year

A New Cooperative Era

Shah stated that Amul is now a global FMCG leader, and the cooperative spirit must spread to new sectors, like salt production and digital payments. He pointed to new cooperative models like the Kutch District Salt Cooperative Society as the next big leap.

He also mentioned the launch of Tribhuvan Sahkari University and three new national-level cooperatives each for:

• Grain sales

• Grain production

• Dairy sector development

Call for Transparency, Technology, and Member-Centric Focus

In the International Year of Cooperatives, Shri Amit Shah urged all cooperative leaders to focus on:

• Transparency in operations

• Adoption of modern technology

• Keeping cooperative members at the center of decision-making

He stressed that without these, no cooperative institution can survive or grow in today’s competitive environment.

This event signifies a robust push by the government to revive and future-proof India’s cooperative ecosystem, especially in dairy, agriculture, and digital sectors.