IFFCO, the World’s No.1 Cooperative, welcomed the announcement of the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha and its subsequent approval by the lower house recently.
While announcing the bill, Amit Shah, Minister of Cooperation and Home Affairs, said that after
75 years of independence, today the country is getting its first cooperative university. He said that this bill will strengthen the rural economy, develop the ecosystem of self-employment and small entrepreneurship, increase social inclusion and increase opportunities to set new standards in innovation and research.
He said that in a way, the whole country will get a new cooperative leadership inspired by the spirit of cooperation and equipped with modern education.
Udai Shanker Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO stated that, “I appreciate the Tribhuvan Cooperative University Bill 2025, a historic step for the pioneering development of cooperatives. The establishment of this university will bring a new revolution in the cooperative sector.
I welcome this commendable step of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister and Amit Shah, Home and Cooperative Minister. This is a very big step for Indian agriculture, farmers and rural development. This will further strengthen our villages.”
He said that, establishment of sector-specific schools across the country will help fertilizer cooperatives, especially IFFCO this will empower cooperatives with a new generation of professionals in the field of fertilizer cooperative management and marketing.
Short-term courses for existing cooperative employees are a game-changer and a step which was never been done at this scale.
This university will also train the existing employees and cooperators, making them for efficient being a great asset for the fraternity.
While expressing his appreciation for this step, Dileep Sanghani, Chairman, IFFCO, said, this step will ensure that seeds for the next generation of the cooperative leadership will be nurtured and cared for under a system which runs by the cooperatives for the cooperatives.
He expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister under whose guidance Amit Shah, the first Union Minister of Cooperation, is working tirelessly with the motto of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’. He said this is a historic step that will ensure the development of the cooperative sector for years to come.
Given the development and expansion of the cooperative sector, trained human resources are needed, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University will work to fulfil this need. After the formation of a cooperative university, its diploma and degree holders will get jobs.
Through this university, a big contribution will be made to the domestic as well as global value chain. New age cooperative culture will also start from this university, which will embody the spirit of professional management.
A standardized curriculum will be developed for this university under the guidance of the Ministry of Cooperation in consultation with cooperatives across the nation.
Professional management of the cooperatives through specialized courses in cooperative marketing will enable cooperatives to market their products at the global stage, which will ultimately improve the overall output and revenue of the cooperative sector with the spirit of ‘Local to Global’. Cooperative principles and cooperative activities will be expanded.
The cooperative sector will benefit from new technology, reaching out to swathes of people who were left untouched by the cooperative sector. This will also strengthen the rural economy.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that the country’s first university dedicated to the cooperative sector will be built 75 years after independence, and when it can award diplomas with graduation, degrees or certificates every year to about 8 lakh candidates, there will be an infusion of new blood in the cooperative movement.
Jeroen Douglas, Director General of International Cooperative Alliance, through a video message, said that this is a step which will not only strengthen the Indian Cooperative movement, but through knowledge exchange and training programs, this step will act as a cornerstone in the Global Cooperative movement will adding to its strength.
He thanked the Indian Leadership for making this announcement this year (2025), which has been designated as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations.
IFFCO is ranked the World’s No.1 Cooperative (concerning its contribution to GDP). According to the World Cooperative Monitor (WCM) Report published by EURCISE and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), the premier International cooperative body.
