Cooperative Societies - Part2

1.      To cater to the requirement of rural poor in particular and to safeguard the interests of the farming community in general, the provincial Government during this era encouraged setting up of credit institutions patterned on European banks of the Raiffeisen type in the cooperative sector. And, as a result, the first agricultural bank came into being in Bombay province in 1882. The Agricultural Loans Act was passed in 1884. Subsequently, a successful cooperative society was formed in 1892 in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The Government of India appointed a special committee under the chairmanship of Sir Edward Law to go into the possibilities of setting up of cooperative institutions for advancing agricultural credit. On the recommendations of this committee, the Cooperative Societies Act, 1904 was enacted marking the dawn of organised cooperative era in India.

2.      The agricultural Finance Sub-Committee, 1944, the Cooperative Planning Committee, 1945, and the Cooperative Sub-Committee, 1948 had consolidated the progress made and suggested measures to strengthen and streamline the cooperative movement.

3.      Important among these committees were : (i) All India Rural Credit Survey Committee (1951), (ii) Mehta Committee (1959), (iii) Patel Committee (1961), (iv) Mirdha Committee (1964), (v) All India Rural Credit Review Committee (1966), (vi) Santhanam Committee (1969), (vii) National Commission on Agriculture (1971), (viii) The Committee on Cooperative Land Development Bank (1973), (ix) Hazari Committee (1975),(x) All India Debt and Investment survey (1971-72), (xi) Sivaraman Committee (1979), (xii) All India Debt and Investment Survey (1981-82), (xiii) Agricultural Credit Review Committee (1989), (xiv) Brahma Prakash Committee (1991), and Narasimham Committee (1991).

4.      Important among the committees that identified the problems confronted by various cooperatives in the country were : All – India Rural Credit Review Committee (1966), Hazari Committee (1975), Sivaraman Committee (1979), Agricultural Credit Review Committee (1989), and Narasimham Committee (1991). [ For more details, please refer "Report of the All – India Rural Credit Review Committee'' (1969); Paranjothi (1984): "Committees and Commissions on Cooperation"; and "Report of the Agricultural Credit Review Committee (1990-91)"]