Chandigarh, Dec 24 (PTI) Union Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government has worked towards making farmers prosperous through the cooperative sector.
Speaking at an event in Panchkula, Shah said the government has strengthened the agriculture base and has been working to make farmers prosperous through the cooperative movement.
Speaking at the Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) conference on ‘Prosperity through Cooperation – Role of Cooperatives in Sustainable Agriculture’ , Shah said the new agriculture policy focuses on reducing use of water and chemicals in agriculture.
He further said the government is planning to launch ride-hailing mobility app ‘Bharat Taxi’ in the cooperative sector in one or two months.
“There is a big section of drivers, auto drivers, youths who operate their motorcycles as taxis in the country. There are many companies in the country which are engaged in the operation of taxis but profit goes to owners not taxi drivers,” he said adding it will aim at eliminating the dependency of commercial vehicle drivers on private companies.
Through the initiative of the cooperation ministry, he said, “we will bring Bharat Taxi in one or two months and each penny of profit will go to drivers.”
The digital app, ‘Bharat Taxi’, will be operated by the Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Ltd, a multi-state cooperative society, registered under the MSCS Act 2002 on June 6, 2025, Shah had earlier in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
As regards the farm sector, Shah said through soil health, water security, institutional credit, market access, product processing and packing and marketing, the country has moved towards turning the farming sector into sustainable agriculture.
Shah said that Haryana is writing new chapters in agriculture and cooperative sectors. “We all know 70 per cent of our population resides in villages. A big chunk of our population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry.”
“If we see agriculture and animal husbandry these two sectors generate maximum employment. If we connect cooperative with these two sectors, along with giving employment it can make farmers prosperous,” he said.
He underscored how cooperative can transform the lives of women in rural hinterland, citing Amul in Gujarat, which distributes Rs 90,000 crore to 36 lakh women each year.
He said by establishing the cooperation ministry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a new mantra– “prosperity through cooperation”.
The agriculture budget of the country used to be Rs 22,000 crore in 2014 before Modi became the Prime Minister, which is now Rs 1.27 lakh crore, Shah said.
Rural development budget was Rs 80,000 crore which has been increased to Rs 1.87 lakh crore, he said.
Through these steps, a foundation was laid to increase farmers’ income, he said.
About cooperative Amul, he said when it was set up it used to collect 2,000 litres of milk daily and now it collects crores of litres of milk throughout the country.
“I have full belief that 15 years down the line the country will have at least 20 cooperatives like Amul,” Shah said.
On this occasion, Shah inaugurated the Milk Cooling Centre, Salempur (Bhiwani) Plant and the HAFED Atta Mill at Jatusana (Rewari), virtually from Panchkula.
He also distributed RuPay Platinum Debit Cards to beneficiaries of cooperative banks of Haryana and also distributed registration certificates to the Presidents of multipurpose cooperative societies established by Haryana KRIBHCO.
On the occasion, Shah also inaugurated a portal showcasing various activities being undertaken during the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC).
He praised the Nayab Singh Saini government for procuring 24 crops at Minimum Support Price. The money for the procured crops of farmers is transferred into their bank accounts within 48 hours, he said. Saini was among others present on the occasion.
