Amit Shah to Lead ‘Manthan’ Meet in Gandhinagar, Focus on Cooperative Reforms and Rural Growth

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level “Manthan” meeting of Cooperation Ministers from States and Union Territories on 17 February 2026 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The meeting aims to review reforms and set a coordinated agenda to strengthen India’s cooperative sector and energise the rural economy.

The deliberations will bring together State Cooperation Ministers and senior officials to assess progress on key initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation. Central to the discussions will be the plan to establish two lakh new Multi-Purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), along with dairy and fisheries cooperatives, to expand grassroots economic participation and income opportunities.

Participants will also examine the expansion of modern warehousing under the national grain storage programme, designed to improve storage infrastructure, stabilise prices, and enhance farmers’ market access. The role of States in newly created national cooperative institutions — National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) — will be reviewed, with a focus on boosting exports, promoting organic farming, and ensuring quality seed supply.

Legal and structural reforms will feature prominently, including updates to State cooperative laws aligned with the 97th Constitutional Amendment. Other agenda items include improving the viability of cooperative sugar mills, sustainability and circularity in the dairy sector, digitisation of PACS and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) offices, and strengthening cooperative banking frameworks.

The meeting will further address human resource development, membership expansion, awareness strategies, and better utilisation of the National Cooperative Database. The “Manthan” conclave is expected to deepen Centre–State coordination and reinforce cooperatives as engines of rural growth, employment, and self-reliance.