Union Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the cooperative sector is going to make the largest contribution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of making India a USD five trillion economy, in the process benefiting several crore people associated with it.
Addressing a gathering of milk producers of the Surat District Co-Operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. (Sumul) here, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister said a strong cooperative sector will help realise the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
''I can say with confidence that, in the coming days, the area of cooperation is going to make the largest contribution towards realising PM Narendra Modi's dream of a 5 trillion dollar economy,'' Shah said during the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of Sumul dairy.
''If Sumul gets strong, its two-and-a-half lakh (member milk producers) benefit. If a private dairy gets strong, only five people benefit. If the cooperative sector becomes strong, the country's farmers, cattle farmers, owners will get strengthened, and the idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat will grow,'' he said.
Shah urged the audience to take a pledge to make the cooperative sector the strongest in the world in the coming 25 years when India celebrates 100 years of Independence.
Shah informed that Sumul had grown from producing 200 litres of milk per day in 1971 to selling milk worth Rs 7 crore per day now, with the money getting deposited in the bank accounts of its 2.5 lakh members, which he termed the ''magic of cooperative theory''.
The Union minister also hailed the contribution of Tribhuvan Patel, widely known as the father of the cooperative movement in India and founder-chairman of the world-renowned Amul, He said Sumul aims to raise milk production to 25 lakh litres per day from the current 20 lakh litres.
Shah said PM Modi was working to double the income of farmers by transferring Rs 6,000 each into the accounts of 13 crore farmers.
Shah went to say the Gujarat government had not allowed private players in sugar production, which just showed how strong and large the cooperative sector was in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
