COOPERATIVE SECTOR IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Abstract

It is now increasingly recognized that the co-operative system in India has the capacity and potentiality to neutralize the adverse effects emerging from the process of globalization. The failure of the public sector in several cases is a worrisome trend. Privatization has also failed to make an impact in the rural areas. Therefore, there is great hope on the cooperative sector. The government of India is committed to cooperative development. The cooperatives have inherent advantages in tackling the problems of poverty alleviation, food security and employment generation. This paper examines the problems and prospects of growth of cooperative sector in India by utilizing secondary data sources. The results of the study highlight several challenges and shortcomings such as poor infrastructure, government interference, mismanagement and manipulation, restricted coverage, functional weakness etc. On the basis of the findings the paper suggests formation of multipurpose societies, imparting education, appointing trained administrators, spread of cooperative movement and research and continuous monitoring as some of the measures need to be taken at the earliest.