Bengaluru, Apr 1: Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah on Friday stressed on more transparency, zero corruption and increase in creditability to make the cooperative movement successful in the country.
Underlining that the cooperative sector has the potential to uplift the rural economy and in turn contribute to the national economy in a big way, he said the cooperative movement has helped poor people to increase their income.
“I see a huge potential in the cooperative sector but there are some challenges too. If we do not address them, then in the coming days the next generation will never know what this movement is about,” Shah said during a Conference on Cooperation. “I want the cooperative sector to be more transparent and increase its credibility. Corruption in this sector has to be stopped. We have to make the election transparent. Recruitments and promotions have to be transparent,” Shah said.
The Centre is going to approve usage of Government e-Marketplace (GeM), the national public procurement portal, to make purchasing in cooperative sector more transparent, Shah said.
He added that corruption will be eliminated when procurement is done through GeM and that too from those who quote the lowest price.
The Minister also emphasised that the cooperative movement should reach every village when India enters its centenary year. “We will make it transparent and trustworthy. We will use cooperation as a tool for eradicating poverty and agriculture development,” Shah said.
Stating that he had been associated with the cooperative movement from a very young age, Shah said he felt at home in Karnataka as the movement was started by Siddanagouda S Ramanagouda Patil in a remote village in Gadag in 1905.