"Union Government Launches 'She-Mart' Scheme for Women Cooperatives"
Ministry of Cooperation
Union ministry created in 2021 to oversee India's cooperative sector.
NAFED
National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, apex agri-marketing cooperative body.
India's cooperative sector traces its origins to colonial-era credit societies, but its constitutional standing was strengthened only in 2011. The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 inserted Part IXB (Articles 243ZH to 243ZT) into the Constitution, laying down uniform norms for the incorporation, management and winding up of cooperative societies. It also made the right to form cooperative societies part of the fundamental right to form associations under Article 19(1)(c), and added Article 43B as a Directive Principle directing the state to promote voluntary, autonomous cooperatives.
For decades, cooperative societies were regulated mainly through the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2021, the Union Government carved out a separate Ministry of Cooperation, built around the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' (prosperity through cooperation), to give the sector dedicated policy attention and deepen its reach in rural credit, marketing and agro-processing. Kerala offers one of India's oldest and densest cooperative ecosystems, rooted in the pre-independence cooperative traditions of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar, and today counts over 23,000 functioning cooperative institutions.
Two national federations anchor the government's cooperative marketing architecture. NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) procures and markets agricultural commodities, while NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India) focuses on cooperative consumer distribution. Both operate under the Ministry of Cooperation and are used as delivery vehicles for price-stabilisation efforts, distributing subsidised commodities branded as Bharat Atta, Bharat Rice and Bharat Dal through retail counters and mobile vans.
The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, as amended in 2023, is the principal law governing cooperatives that operate across more than one state; the amendment introduced measures for greater transparency, including a dedicated Cooperative Election Authority. …
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Consider the following statements regarding cooperative societies in the Indian Constitution:
1.The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 inserted Part IXB dealing with cooperative societies.
2.It made the right to form cooperative societies part of Article 19(1)(c).
3.It added Article 43B as a Directive Principle directing the state to promote cooperatives.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Match List I (Cooperative Institution) with List II (Primary Function):
List I:
1.NAFED
2.NCCF
3.NCDC
List II:
A.Statutory corporation financing cooperative development
B.Apex federation for agricultural marketing
C.Apex federation for cooperative consumer distribution
Select the correct answer using the codes below:
The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, which governs cooperatives operating across more than one state, is administered by which of the following?
Which of the following are stated objectives of the 'She-Mart' initiative under the Ministry of Cooperation?
1.Direct market linkage between women self-help groups/entrepreneurs and consumers
2.Restricting institutional credit access to male farmers only
3.Integrating women-led enterprises across procurement, processing, branding and retail
Select the correct answer using the codes below:
Consider the following statements about the 'Bharat Brand' commodities distributed through cooperative federations:
1.Bharat Atta, Bharat Rice and Bharat Dal are distributed to stabilise retail prices of essential food items.
2.NAFED and NCCF are among the cooperative federations used to distribute these commodities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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