Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah today said the cooperative movement in India has received a new lease of life after Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to de-link it from the agriculture ministry; giving a tremendous boost. Delivering the Laxmanrao Inamdar Memorial Lecture at Mumbai University this evening, Mr. Shah said the cooperative model is a human-centric model that allows people with even minimum capital to contribute to the country’s economic development. Citing the example of Amul, Mr. Shah said the white revolution that started with just 12 women is now a 60 thousand crore business, employing 36 lakh women.
 
Mr. Shah said 60 crore people, who were part of the informal economy, have been brought into the mainstream by providing them with a bank account in the past nine years. He said these people have been given a home with power and gas connections besides clean water and a toilet. He said they have also been given healthcare benefits, hence they can dream of a future and contribute to the country’s development with whatever little savings that they can make.
 
The minister also spoke about how the government has helped the urban cooperative sector to flourish by resolving issues related to settlement, increasing credit limits, and allowing them to open more branches and operate micro ATMs.