Government allocates 2000 Crores for National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a Central Sector Scheme grant-in-aid to the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) worth ₹2,000 crore from 2025-26 to 2028-29. This grant aims to strengthen the cooperative movement by enabling investments and activities that boost cooperative enterprises, enhance rural development, and promote socio-economic growth through cooperative institutions.
The funds provided to NCDC will enable the organisation to raise an additional ₹20,000 crore from the open market over a span of four years. This financial aid will be used to grant loans to cooperatives for setting up new projects, expansion of plants, and meeting working capital requirements.
Approximately 2.9 crore members of 13,288 cooperative societies across various sectors in India are likely to benefit from this scheme. Cooperatives meeting the criteria of direct funding guidelines of NCDC will be considered for financial assistance directly, either against admissible security or state government guarantee.
The grant in aid of ₹2,000 crore will be sourced from budgetary support from the Government of India. NCDC will be the executing agency for this scheme, responsible for disbursement, follow-up, monitoring of implementation, and recovery of loan disbursed out of the fund.
The funds provided to cooperatives will be used for working capital to run their businesses efficiently and profitably. The creation of income-generating capital assets is expected through the funds provided to cooperatives. Cooperatives will receive much-needed liquidity in the form of working capital due to the funds provided.
NCDC's funding is an essential tool to bridge the socio-economic gap in India. Through their principles of democracy, equality, and community concerns, cooperatives are an important means to increase women's participation in the workforce.
The impact of this ₹2,000 crore scheme is expected to be significant in catalyzing cooperative projects, which can improve agricultural development, increase rural incomes, and foster overall inclusive growth. By injecting substantial funding over the four-year period, the scheme will empower NCDC to extend credit and support to cooperatives engaged in agriculture, agro-processing, and allied sectors, thereby strengthening rural economies and promoting sustainable development.
[1] Government of India, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare. (n.d.). Central Sector Scheme on Capacity Building of NCDC. Retrieved from https://ncdcindia.com/capacity-building-of-ncdc/
[2] Press Information Bureau, Government of India. (2022, March 21). Union Cabinet approves Central Sector Scheme on Capacity Building of National Cooperative Development Corporation. Retrieved from https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1804062
The grant in aid of ₹2,000 crore by the Government of India will be utilized to grant loans to cooperatives for variousbusinessactivities such as setting up new projects, expansion of plants, and meeting working capital requirements. This financing will also serve to inject much-needed liquidity in the form of working capital to run cooperative businesses efficiently and profitably, thereby boosting the overallfinanceconditions of the cooperatives.
){kind=link}