Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah declared a major push to empower India's cooperative movement, announcing the imminent nationwide rollout of 'Sahkari Insurance Services'. The announcement came during his address at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day Earth Summit 2025-26 in Gandhinagar on Friday.
A Definite Strategy for Cooperative Growth
Shah outlined a clear and ambitious roadmap for the sector. He stated that the central government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, has a "definite strategy" to triple the cooperative sector's contribution to the national economy in the coming years. A key part of this plan is to expand active membership in cooperatives to over 50 crore people.
The newly announced Sahkari Insurance will be a cornerstone of this expansion. "We're also bringing a cooperative insurance service - whether it's health insurance, life insurance, agriculture, or accident insurance - all types of insurance on a cooperative basis," Shah explained. To ensure its reach, three young individuals in every village will be trained and deployed as ambassadors for this insurance initiative, creating widespread rural employment.
Digital Drives and Scaling Successful Models
Reiterating the focus on a digital-first approach, the Minister highlighted the Sahakar Sarathi initiative by NABARD, which has launched 13 digital service portals. These platforms aim to unify rural, district, and urban cooperative banks on a single technology backbone for seamless operations like KYC and document management.
Shah also pointed to successful models ready for national replication. The cooperative-led 'Sahakari Taxi' service, currently in trial phase in Delhi with 51,000 registered drivers, will be scaled up across the country. He emphasized that with drivers receiving 100% of their earnings directly into their bank accounts, this model has the potential to become India's largest taxi service. Furthermore, the Gujarat model of 'Co-operation Among Co-operatives' from Banaskantha and Panchmahal districts will be implemented nationwide after policy reforms, helping institutions keep their funds within cooperative banks.
Boosting Organic Farming and Rural Investment
The Minister shed light on the significant strides in organic agriculture. He revealed that 49 lakh farmers have already adopted natural farming methods. To support them and tap into the global market, the government, alongside Bharat Organics and Amul Organics, is creating a national laboratory network for certification. India aims to capture over 20% of the global organic food market by 2030, with an even more ambitious target of 40% by 2035.
To facilitate this, two new multi-state cooperatives will be established to purchase and sell certified organic produce, ensuring direct bank transfers to farmers. Nearly 40 organic products, including wheat and rice, are already being sold online. Shah also mentioned the national rollout of Banas Dairy's circular economy model and a similar framework under development for the sugarcane sector.
Highlighting the government's financial commitment, Shah noted that the combined budget of the ministries of Rural Development, Agriculture, and Cooperation has tripled from Rs 1.02 lakh crore in 2014 to over Rs 3.15 lakh crore for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who also spoke at the event, said the Earth Summit would be a crucial platform for advancing the Prime Minister's vision of a developed India by converging key stakeholders. During the summit, Amit Shah formally launched NABARD's Sahakar Sarathi digital services and released several key documents, including the Gujarat government's State Focus Paper for 2026-27.
