Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget on the New National Cooperative Policy.(Relevance: Since 2025 is the International Year of Cooperatives as declared by the United Nations, the government initiative of introducing the New National Cooperatives Policy makes it an important topic for your examination. Also, in 2025, the UPSC prelims question was asked on the declared International Years.)Why in the news?On Thursday (24th July), the Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the new National Cooperative Policy 2025, replacing one in place for the past 23 years. It marked another milestone for the Ministry of Cooperatives, whose role has been expanding under the Narendra Modi government. The ministry said a new policy was needed because of globalisation and technological advancements in the past two decades.Key Takeaways:1. The National Cooperative Policy will be effective from 2025 to 2045, i.e., approximately until the centenary of India’s independence. Amit Shah said that the vision of the new cooperation policy is to build a Viksit Bharat by 2047 through ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’. The policy is drafted by a 48-member committee led by Suresh Prabhu.2. The policy defined the six pillars to achieve the set goals for the cooperative sector. These are: Strengthening the foundation, Promoting vibrancy, Preparing cooperative societies for the future, Enhancing inclusivity and expanding reach, Expanding into new sectors, and preparing the younger generation for cooperative development.3. Notably, it is significant as the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives with the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World”. The launch of the International Year of Cooperatives was held in India in November 2024 — fittingly, as India has been taking the lead in promoting and strengthening cooperatives from the top levels of government since the new Ministry of Cooperation was formed in 2021.4. The Ministry of Cooperation was formed as a separate ministry by the Modi government four years ago, with Shah given the charge of it. From 1979 till then, the cooperatives department fell under the Agriculture Ministry.Story continues below this ad5. The new ministry, Sahkarita Mantralaya, was announced via a two-page notification in the official gazette, a day before Modi effected the biggest reshuffle of his second term, on July 7, 2021. Its vision was stated to be ‘Sahakar se Samriddhi (Prosperity through Cooperation)’.6. In the last four years, the ministry has seen several big initiatives, including the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2023, that ushered in three new cooperative bodies, including National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), with plans for “the world’s largest grain storage scheme” and two lakh new Multi-Purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies. The Model Cooperative Village initiative was also launched in Gandhinagar under the initiative of NABARD.7. The formation of the NCEL has also opened up the export sector for cooperatives. Within months of its establishment, the NCEL received orders of rice and wheat from several countries, amounting to a total of Rs 5,000 crore.UPSC MAINS 2025 SPECIAL | How to write effective answers for UPSC Mains Exam : 3 steps and 5 FAQs8. Earlier this month, Shah laid the foundation stone of India’s first national cooperative university, Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Anand, Gujarat, and advocated that cooperative education be included in the secondary school curricula.Story continues below this adThe History of Cooperatives in India1. The history of the cooperative sector dates back to before Independence, with a Cooperative Credit Societies Act enacted in 1904 after the recommendations of the Edward Law Committee.2. Within a few years, there was an exponential expansion in the sector, with the number of societies registered under it increasing to 5,300 and their membership to over 3 lakh by 1911.3. With the increase in the number of cooperatives, the Cooperative Societies Act of 1912 was enacted providing a basic framework for organisation of these cooperatives. This led to the constitution of the first Cooperative Housing Society, the Madras Cooperative Union, in 1914.4. In the wake of the Banking crisis and the First World War, Maclagen Committee on Cooperation was constituted in 1914 to suggest on the state of credit cooperatives.Story continues below this ad5. The Government of India Act 1919 transferred the operation as a subject to the provinces. The Bombay Cooperative Societies Act of 1925 became the first provincial act to be passed.6. On December 14, 1946, eight months before the country got Independence, the Khera District Cooperative Milk Producers Milk Union, or Amul, was registered. After Independence, the cooperative sector retained a prominent place in the Five-Year Plans. Dr Verghese Kurien, founder of Amul. (Express archive photo)7. The milk cooperatives under the leadership of Verghese Kurien changed India’s milk landscape from a highly deficit country to the world’s largest producer of milk with 239 million tonnes, followed by the US at 103 million tonnes in 2023-24.8. In 2002, when the NDA was in power under A B Vajpayee, the cooperative sector received a new focus, leading to the enactment of the National Cooperative Policy. Now, after 23 years, a new Cooperative Policy is being adopted.Story continues below this adBEYOND THE NUGGET: 97th Constitutional amendment 1. Through the 97th constitutional amendment, Part IXB (The Co-Operative Societies) was inserted into the Constitution. The right to form cooperative societies was included as the Right to Freedom under Article 19 (1), Part-3 of the Constitution.2. In addition to this, Article 43-B (Promotion of Cooperative Societies) was also inserted as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy under Part 4 of the Constitution of India.3. Cooperatives are a state subject under the Constitution, meaning they come under the state governments’ jurisdiction, but there are many societies whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state. For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states. The inter-state cooperatives are governed by the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023.01What do you mean by cooperatives?Cooperatives are organisations formed at the grassroots level by people to harness the power of collective bargaining in the marketplace. This can mean different kinds of arrangements, such as using a common resource or sharing capital, to derive a common gain that would otherwise be difficult for an individual producer to get. In agriculture, cooperative dairies, sugar mills, spinning mills etc. are formed with the pooled resources of farmers who wish to process their produce.02What are the 5Ps of Cooperative initiatives in India?The Cooperation Minister said that under PM Modi’s leadership, the ministry has taken 60 initiatives. And all the initiatives are based on five Ps; ‘People’, ‘PACS’ (primary agriculture cooperative societies), ‘Platform’ (digital and national), ‘Policy’ and ‘Prosperity’.03What is the theme of the UN-declared 2025 International Year of Cooperatives?The theme for the UN-declared 2025 International Year of Cooperatives is "Cooperatives Build a Better World".Post Read QuestionConsider the following pairs :I. International Year of the Woman Farmer :2026II. International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism :2027III. International Year of Cooperatives :2025IV. International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence :2029How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?(a) Only one(b) Only two(c) Only three(d) All the fourStory continues below this adAnswer key(d)(Source: New cooperative policy after 23 yrs is one more leap for Amit Shah-led Cooperation Ministry, Embrace transparency, tech and member-centric approach: Amit Shah urges cooperative sector, In India’s cooperative boom, women need to be at the centre, not the margins)Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨