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Cooperative Movement in India

Social Justice & Development

  • PYQs17
  • Articles3
I

Background

The cooperative movement is vital for rural development, financial inclusion, poverty alleviation, and offers an alternative economic model. Its evolution, challenges, and government interventions are crucial for understanding India's socio-economic landscape and governance.

The cooperative movement in India is an alternative economic model based on the principles of self-help and mutual aid, aiming to prevent exploitation, ensure fair practices, and empower members as owners. It has historically played a significant role in various sectors, particularly agriculture and dairy, contributing to rural development and inclusive growth.

II

Facts & tables

Principle
Member-owned, democratically controlled enterprises.
Objective
Prevent exploitation, ensure fair returns, provide security and prosperity to members.
Slogan
'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' (Prosperity through Cooperation).
Examples
Amul (dairy), IFFCO & KRIBHCO (fertilizers), Bharat Taxi (mobility).
Constitutional Status
Article 43B (DPSP) promotes voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control, and professional management of cooperative societies.
97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011
Gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.
Key Principles
Voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, concern for community.
Diverse Sectors
Prominent in agriculture (IFFCO, KRIBHCO), dairy (Amul), banking, housing, and now expanding to services like ride-hailing.
Static syllabus anchors
Type Reference
Conceptual area Social Justice
Conceptual area Rural Development
Conceptual area Social Justice & Development
Conceptual area Indian Economy & Development
Conceptual area Indian Economy
Conceptual area Constitutional Amendments & Structure
Conceptual area Directive Principles of State Policy
Institutions & roles
Body Role
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) Foundational rural cooperative institutions, now diversified
National Federations Collaborate with ministry, strengthen cooperative value chains
Ministry of Cooperation Promotes
NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation) Finances
IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited) Implements
Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) Implements
III

Prelims angle

Prelims angle: Multi-statement analysis

Prelims angle: Factual recall

  • Member-owned, democratic control.
  • Aims to prevent exploitation, ensure fair returns.
  • Key examples: Amul, IFFCO, KRIBHCO.
  • 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' vision.
  • New application: mobility sector (Bharat Taxi).
Authority vs ministry — Distinguish between the Ministry of Cooperation's policy role and the operational roles of various cooperative bodies.

Ministry sets policy; regulator often has quasi-judicial powers.

High-confidence PYQ links
Year Framing tags
2026 Conceptual understanding, Terminology-based question
2026 Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
2026 Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
2025 Statement-based questions, Purpose or function of a policy tool
2023 Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
2023 Statement-based questions, Multi-statement analysis
2022 Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
2018 Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
2018 Multi-statement analysis, Conceptual understanding
2017 Terminology-based question, Policy measures
2017 Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding
2017 Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
2017 Statement-based questions, Factual recall
2016 Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
2016 Purpose or function of a policy tool, Factual recall
2015 Conceptual understanding, Definition-based questions
2013 Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

Timeline

  1. Social Justice

    Conceptual area

  2. Rural Development

    Conceptual area

  3. Social Justice & Development

    Conceptual area

  4. Indian Economy & Development

    Conceptual area

  5. Prelims 2013

    Factual recall, Conceptual understanding

  6. Prelims 2015

    Conceptual understanding, Definition-based questions

  7. Prelims 2016

    Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures

  8. Prelims 2016

    Purpose or function of a policy tool, Factual recall

  9. Prelims 2017

    Terminology-based question, Policy measures

  10. Prelims 2017

    Statement-based questions, Conceptual understanding

  11. Prelims 2017

    Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures

  12. Prelims 2017

    Statement-based questions, Factual recall

  13. Prelims 2018

    Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures

  14. Prelims 2018

    Multi-statement analysis, Conceptual understanding

  15. Prelims 2022

    Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall

  16. Prelims 2023

    Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures

  17. Prelims 2023

    Statement-based questions, Multi-statement analysis

  18. Prelims 2025

    Statement-based questions, Purpose or function of a policy tool

  19. Prelims 2026

    Conceptual understanding, Terminology-based question

  20. Prelims 2026

    Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall

  21. Prelims 2026

    Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall

  22. Bharat Taxi launched to end exploitation by cab aggregators: Amit Shah

    The cooperative movement is a constitutionally backed, member-driven model promoting economic and social welfare across various sectors in India.

  23. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today launched Bharat Taxi for Gujarat from Gandhinagar; services begin in all major cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot across two-wheeler, auto and four-wheeler categories

    The cooperative movement in India promotes member-owned enterprises to ensure fair practices, prevent exploitation, and foster inclusive growth, exemplified by successes in dairy (Amul) and agriculture (IFFCO), and now extended to mobility (Bharat Taxi) under the 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' vision.

  24. Grand ambitions: On India’s cooperative sector

    The cooperative movement in India, traditionally strong in agriculture, is undergoing a transformation led by the Ministry of Cooperation to diversify into new sectors, enhance market linkages, and address governance challenges, aiming to become a global model for inclusive growth.

See also

Past papers

2013–2026 · 17 questions

In the news

pib.gov.in

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah today launched Bharat Taxi for Gujarat from Gandhinagar; services begin in all major cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot across two-wheeler, auto and four-wheeler categories

The cooperative movement in India promotes member-owned enterprises to ensure fair practices, prevent exploitation, and foster inclusive growth, exemplified by successes in dairy (Amul) and agriculture (IFFCO), and now extended to mobility (Bharat Taxi) under the 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' vision.

thehindu.com

Grand ambitions: On India’s cooperative sector

The cooperative movement in India, traditionally strong in agriculture, is undergoing a transformation led by the Ministry of Cooperation to diversify into new sectors, enhance market linkages, and address governance challenges, aiming to become a global model for inclusive growth.

Try these PYQs

UPSC Prelims 2026 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Which of the following statements with regard to the persons with disabilities in India is/are correct ?

1. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2018, mandates reservation in education and employment, places a legal duty on Governments to ensure accessibility and non-discrimination.
2. The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan focuses on achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities across three key domains — built infrastructure, transport systems and information and communication technology.
3. The National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC) is a public sector organisation set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as a not-for-profit company to promote entrepreneurship among Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

Select the answer using the code given below :

UPSC Prelims 2023 hard Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Consider the following statements :
Statement-I :India's public sector health care system largely focuses on curative care with limited preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.
Statement-II: Under India's decentralized approach to health care delivery, the States are primarily responsible for organizing health services.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

UPSC Prelims 2016 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

‘SWAYAM’, an initative of the Government of India, aims at

UPSC Prelims 2022 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

With reference to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements:
1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it.
2. As it aims to achieve universal health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately.
3. It has seamless portability across the country.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2016 hard Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

With reference to ‘Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with a cluster approach.
2. Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have a larger stake in this scheme.
3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and micro-irrigation equipment.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Show 12 more PYQs
UPSC Prelims 2026 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Which of the following statements with respect to the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) is/are correct ?

1. The period of its implementation is 1st April, 2021 to 31st March, 2026.
2. The key objective of the Revamped RGSA is to develop the governance capabilities of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.
3. The share of the Central funding for the Revamped RGSA is 100% for all States and Union Territories.

Select the answer using the code given below :

UPSC Prelims 2017 easy Economy Open full page

Consider the following statements :
The nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card Scheme’ aims at

1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation.
2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality.
3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2018 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Which of the following is/are the aim/aims of "Digital India" Plan of the Government of India?
1. Formation of India's own Internet companies like China did.
2. Establish a policy framework to encourage overseas multinational corporations that collect Big Data to build their large data centres within our national geographical boundaries.
3. Connect many of our villages to the Internet and bring Wi-Fi to many of our school, public places and major tourist centres

Select the correct answer using the code given below

UPSC Prelims 2017 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

With reference to ‘National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)’, which of the statements given below is/are correct?

1. Under NSQF, a learner can acquire the certification for competency only through formal learning.
2. An outcome expected from the implementation of NSQF is the mobility between vocational and general education.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

UPSC Prelims 2026 easy Indian Polity Open full page

Mr. X, a senior officer, was overseeing a critical vaccination programme during a pandemic. He found that a private service provider responsible for vaccine distribution was compromising on quality to make profits. Despite immense pressure to manage the issue due to vested interests, he raised his voice based on the principles of public administration which he learnt during various training programmes attended across his career. He reported the issue to the appropriate vigilance authority and halted the contract to ensure citizen welfare.

Which one among the following principles of public administration was most strongly demonstrated by Mr. X's actions?

UPSC Prelims 2023 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Consider the following statements in relation to Janani Suraksha Yojana:
1. It is safe motherhood intervention of the State Health Departments.
2. Its objective is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality among poor pregnant women.
3. It aims to promote institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.
4. Its objective includes providing public health facilities to sick infants up to one year of age.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2018 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements
1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things, will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2013 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Priority Sector Lending by banks in India constitutes the lending to:

UPSC Prelims 2017 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

What is the purpose of ‘Vidyanjali Yojana’?

1. To enable the famous foreign educational institutions to open their campuses in India.
2. To increase the quality of education provided in government schools by taking help from the private sector and the community.
3. To encourage voluntary monetary contributions from private individuals and organizations so as to improve the infrastructure facilities for primary and secondary schools.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

UPSC Prelims 2025 easy Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Consider the following statements about the Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

I. It is important for the upliftment of rural poor as majority of low producing indigenous animals are with small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.
II. It was initiated to promote indigenous cattle and buffalo rearing and conservation in a scientific and holistic manner.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2017 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Consider the following in respect of ‘National Career Service’:

1. National Career Service is an initiative of the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India.
2. National Career Service has been launched in a Mission Mode to improve the employment opportunities to uneducated youth of the country.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

UPSC Prelims 2015 medium Social Issues & Schemes Open full page

Which one of the following best describes the main objective of ‘Seed Village Concept’?