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This is an archive article published on February 2, 2023
Union Budget: Amit Shah welcomes ‘unprecedented’ decisions for cooperative sector
The Finance Minister also announced tax reliefs for the cooperative sector. An allocation of Rs 1,149.38 crore has been made for 2023-24, which is higher than the BE of Rs 900 crore in 2022-23 but lower than the current year’s revised estimates of Rs 1624.74 crore.
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PM Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and others during presention of the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. PTI
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Union Budget: Amit Shah welcomes ‘unprecedented’ decisions for cooperative sector
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From raising outlay of the Ministry of Cooperation and tax relief for cooperatives to set up “massive” decentralised storage capacity — these are among the key announcements for the cooperative sector made in the Union Budget 2023-24 .
In her budget speech, Sitharaman said, “For farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, and other marginalised sections, the government is promoting cooperative-based economic development model. A new Ministry of Cooperation was formed with a mandate to realise the vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’. To realise this vision, the government has already initiated computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore. In consultation with all stakeholders and states, model bye-laws for PACS were formulated enabling them to become multipurpose PACS. A national cooperative database is being prepared for country-wide mapping of cooperative societies.”
“With this backdrop, we will implement a plan to set up massive decentralised storage capacity. It will help farmers store their produce and realise remunerative prices through sale at appropriate times,” Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister also announced tax reliefs for the cooperative sector. An allocation of Rs 1,149.38 crore has been made for 2023-24, which is higher than the BE of Rs 900 crore in 2022-23 but lower than the current year’s revised estimates of Rs 1624.74 crore.
In his remarks on Budget 2023-24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “This budget will make cooperatives the pivot of development of the rural economy. The government has brought the world’s largest food storage scheme in the co-operative sector – storage capacity.”
Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah called the decisions “unprecedented”, saying, “With the plan of setting up the world’s largest decentralised storage capacity, farmers associated with cooperative societies will be able to get fair prices.”
Shah said that in the next 5 years, the government will also establish new multipurpose cooperative societies, primary fisheries societies and dairy cooperative societies in every panchayat.
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Shah also welcomed the announcement, in which sugar cooperatives have been given the facility to show the payments made to farmers before 2016-17 in their expenditure.
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