The State government is preparing an action plan for the cooperative sector, Minister for Cooperation and Registration V.N. Vasavan has said.
Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, he said new youth-oriented cooperative groups would be formed to attract young entrepreneurs and service providers to the sector.
Currently, the ‘Vidyatharangini’ project to provide interest-free loans for students from classes 1 to 12 who do not have facilities for online classes to purchase necessary digital equipment are being implemented through cooperative societies and banks. It has been decided to provide these loans through Kerala Bank too. As many as 8,000 such loans will be provided through these banks.
Mr. Vasavan said the department had also begun a member relief fund project to provide financial aid for cooperative members who were suffering from serious illnesses. Financial aid of ₹23.94 crore would be made available to 11,194 persons through the project. The distribution of aid would be completed soon in all the districts. He said that the construction of flat complexes under the second phase of the ‘Care Home’ project, to construct houses for those rendered homeless by floods, was progressing. Forty families would be provided houses in the project coming up in a 1.06 acre plot of land in Pazhayannur grama panchayat in Thrissur. It would likely be inaugurated next month.
Steps have been taken to integrate the IT networks of primary cooperative banks and Kerala Bank. The primary cooperatives will be made a part of the core banking network. A total of 10,000 jobs are proposed to be generated in the cooperative sector as part of the government’s 100-day action programme. The Minister also revealed plans to introduce awards for the best performing cooperatives annually.
A new cooperative society will be formed for artists and musicians. An e-marketing platform will be implemented under the coop mart project. The legal fight against the Union government’s policies to destroy the cooperative sector would be taken forward, said the Minister.
