India’s cooperative banks are being urged to enhance transparency, modernise operations, and adopt new technologies, as part of a broader government push to bolster the sector’s competitiveness and trustworthiness.
Amit Shah has urged India’s cooperative banks to become more transparent, more modern and more willing to use technology, warning that institutions that fail to adapt risk being left behind as the financial sector changes. At an event in Anand district, the Union home and cooperation minister said the sector could no longer rely on old habits if it wanted to remain relevant and compete with mainstream banks, according to Deccan Herald.
Shah argued that transparency is not just a compliance issue but a survival strategy for the cooperative movement. He said cooperatives that do not embrace technology and keep members’ interests at the centre of their work have struggled in other countries, and he pressed cooperative leaders to make those principles part of day-to-day operations, Deccan Herald reported. He also framed the sector as an essential part of the country’s effort to widen self-employment and support smaller borrowers.
A key part of Shah’s message was the role of the proposed umbrella body for urban cooperative banks. According to Business Today, he said the organisation would offer technical support, guidance on Reserve Bank of India compliance and access to newer tools, including anti-fraud software such as Mule Hunter. Shah said the body was intended to strengthen depositor confidence and help the roughly 1,400 urban cooperative banks come under one support structure.
The minister also pointed to the scale of reforms already underway in the cooperation ministry. IndianCooperative.com reported that Shah listed 54 initiatives since the ministry was created in July 2021, including model bye-laws for primary agricultural credit societies, computerisation of cooperative institutions, a national cooperative database and the creation of new multi-state cooperative bodies for seeds, organic products and exports. Together, the measures reflect a broader push to make the sector more transparent, more connected and more competitive.
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