The economic and social
benefits of Cooperative societies have already showcased their far reaching
impact over the masses. Still they require certain changes and ample support to
achieve their full potential in a vast and incredible country like India.
By Mr. Ved Prakash, Sharma, CEO, Ujala
Credit Co-operative Society Limited
Over the years, Cooperative societies have played a significant role in the development of economy through financial inclusion. Especially the credit Cooperative societies-- through their deeper penetration across rural and urban sectors -- have helped India usher in a new dawn of progress. While credit Cooperatives, have truly been instrumental in promoting self-employment opportunities among the communities, their path has not been so smooth at all. Cooperatives were initially envisioned and created to provide credit support to the poverty ridden communities and to help them come out of the clutches of the money lenders. Instilling a sense of self-sufficiency among the less stable sections of the communities, a credit Cooperative society aims to help the members honestly to attain financial stability, yet there are various challenges obstructing its growth and expansion. Even though Cooperatives have been more sustainable than other models, there are various challenges that still hinder their progress. Under question, the primary duty of the Boards of the society is to do need based lending in a manner where it’s safe, basis that of maximum good of maximum members is followed and liquidity is not adversely affected, however the promoters have always been crazy and have shown their lust for quick buck by investing in none too safe heavens.
Lack of second line of defence or succession planning is one such reason for which some of the credit cooperatives even reach the brink of ending. Succession planning is in fact an essential constituent that evokes thought of uncertainty that accompany the loss of efficient leadership in any establishment. Effective leadership and motivated members together play significant roles in taking any organisation to new heights. Uncalled for secrecy about the affairs is another reason why some of the Cooperatives fail. Boards of the society must have provision of conducting member depositors, and Senior Advisors who are by and large engaged in spreading the message of co-operatives and mobilising resources. Societies have also failed to abide by the provisions of special invitees which can help in course correction.
Bureaucrats in the Krishi Bhawan have a much more positive role to take co-operatives for ivory towers to the common man, failure of co-operatives can render millions of people loss when we have the aim of providing 2 crore jobs. Cooperatives are member organisations and so there always remains a unique responsibility on the shoulders of their office bearers to be sensitive to the needs of the members. Casual approach in holding the AGMs and directors’ meetings are prime causes of the none too successful journey of cooperative societies. Here also emerges a pertinent question when cooperatives are the entities created through the laws then why can’t some amendments be made to essentially keep some cash reserves/bonds with the Government? After all this fund can be utilized to make part payment in case the society fails to pay its obligations. Moreover, deposits of cooperative societies should also be insured by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) just like their commercial counterparts to safeguard the investment of the members of the credit cooperative societies, the cost of which would naturally be borne by the society. There is no denying the fact that the spatial spread of the credit cooperative societies since independence have contributed immensely in their own way in moving towards financial inclusion. Of course there are millions of members of credit-cooperative societies in this country, but no revolutionary is yet born to tread the path. India needs thousands of barefooted Gandhians who can yet carry it from the Bay of Bengal to Sabarmati. We hope all the stakeholders wake up, it’s never too late to mend.
About Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. is Multistate credit co-operative society registered under Multistate Co-operative Society Act 2002 (registration number is MSCS/CR/552/2012). It follows guidelines of Multistate Credit Co-operative Society Act 2002 governed by Central Registrar which falls under Ministry of Agriculture to take deposits from and lend money to its members. Currently it has operations in the state of Delhi-NCR, Uttarpradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. is committed towards giving better returns on deposits as compared to other investment avenues to its members while ensuring that funds are safe and each depositor gets his money (with interest) back on the day of maturity.
Lack of second line of defence or succession planning is one such reason for which some of the credit cooperatives even reach the brink of ending. Succession planning is in fact an essential constituent that evokes thought of uncertainty that accompany the loss of efficient leadership in any establishment. Effective leadership and motivated members together play significant roles in taking any organisation to new heights. Uncalled for secrecy about the affairs is another reason why some of the Cooperatives fail. Boards of the society must have provision of conducting member depositors, and Senior Advisors who are by and large engaged in spreading the message of co-operatives and mobilising resources. Societies have also failed to abide by the provisions of special invitees which can help in course correction.
Bureaucrats in the Krishi Bhawan have a much more positive role to take co-operatives for ivory towers to the common man, failure of co-operatives can render millions of people loss when we have the aim of providing 2 crore jobs. Cooperatives are member organisations and so there always remains a unique responsibility on the shoulders of their office bearers to be sensitive to the needs of the members. Casual approach in holding the AGMs and directors’ meetings are prime causes of the none too successful journey of cooperative societies. Here also emerges a pertinent question when cooperatives are the entities created through the laws then why can’t some amendments be made to essentially keep some cash reserves/bonds with the Government? After all this fund can be utilized to make part payment in case the society fails to pay its obligations. Moreover, deposits of cooperative societies should also be insured by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) just like their commercial counterparts to safeguard the investment of the members of the credit cooperative societies, the cost of which would naturally be borne by the society. There is no denying the fact that the spatial spread of the credit cooperative societies since independence have contributed immensely in their own way in moving towards financial inclusion. Of course there are millions of members of credit-cooperative societies in this country, but no revolutionary is yet born to tread the path. India needs thousands of barefooted Gandhians who can yet carry it from the Bay of Bengal to Sabarmati. We hope all the stakeholders wake up, it’s never too late to mend.
About Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. is Multistate credit co-operative society registered under Multistate Co-operative Society Act 2002 (registration number is MSCS/CR/552/2012). It follows guidelines of Multistate Credit Co-operative Society Act 2002 governed by Central Registrar which falls under Ministry of Agriculture to take deposits from and lend money to its members. Currently it has operations in the state of Delhi-NCR, Uttarpradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Ujala Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. is committed towards giving better returns on deposits as compared to other investment avenues to its members while ensuring that funds are safe and each depositor gets his money (with interest) back on the day of maturity.
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