Guest Columns

Engaging youth in cooperatives in an innovative manner is the biggest challenge before the cooperative movement today. At various forums, it has been effectively argued that today’s youth need well-conceptualized mentorship programs to foster their engagement with the cooperative sector.

Human civilisations has emerged due to surplus food production, and as a result, trade started flourishing in the world. Both demand and supply-driven trade was carried out, cutting across the borders. International trade was carried out by the enterprising and skilled youth who are involved in import and export rare goods.

The Unati Drone Academy is a pioneering initiative under the vision of The Unati Agri Allied and Marketing Multistate Co-operative Society Limited (UAMMCL) which aims to build a technology-enabled, cooperative-driven sustainable rural economy. The Unati Drone Academy, which proudly stands as India’s first DGCA-affiliated Remote Pilot Training Organization (RPTO), aims to, empower youth to become skilled, certified, and future-ready professionals in India’s rapidly growing drone-ecosystem. The details of this Academy can be known from www.unatidroneacademy.com

The Budget envisages promoting entrepreneurship, value addition, and collective resource management. It also empowers cooperatives to professionalize operations, expand markets, and increase farmer incomes. A framework has been suggested for resilient, integrated cooperative networks rather than fragmented entities.

Yes—Union Budget 2026–27 marks a decisive shift from symbolic support to structural empowerment of cooperatives.
For the first time, the Union Budget is not just allocating funds to cooperatives; it is redesigning incentives, taxation, and institutions in a way that aligns with the National Cooperation Policy 2025, which calls cooperatives the second engine of India’s growth.
The most important signal is this:
The Budget rewards cooperatives when value flows to members.

For the first time in independent India, something fundamentally important has changed. Cooperatives are no longer invisible.
The creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, the rollout of the National Cooperation Policy 2025, the revival of PACS, their computerisation, the formation of NCEL, NCOL, BBSSL, Bhart Taxi and focused schemes like Ayushman Sahakar, Sehkar Sarthi have sent a strong and unambiguous signal

In a short span since its inception, the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) has emerged as a transformative force in India’s agricultural export landscape. Anchored in the cooperative spirit and driven by the vision of “Sahakar se Samriddhi,” NCEL is enabling farmers, producer organisations, and cooperative institutions to access international markets, enhance incomes, and contribute meaningfully to India’s rural-led economic growth.