Context:

• On 5 July 2025, Union Minister for Cooperation and Home Affairs Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of India’s first national cooperative university, the “Tribhuvan Sahkari Vishwavidyalaya (Tribhuvan Cooperative University)”, in Anand district, Gujarat.

Key Dignitaries Present:

• Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat
• Krishan Pal Gurjar, Union Minister of State for Cooperation
• Other distinguished guests

Cost and Infrastructure:

• The university will be built on 125 acres of land at an estimated cost of ₹500 crore.
• It will offer specialized courses in cooperative management, finance, law, and rural development.
• The university aims to train over 2 million cooperative professionals over the next five years, including those from dairy, fisheries, and agricultural credit societies.

Naming:

• The university is named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, the pioneer of the cooperative movement in India and the founder of AMUL.
• He was born in 1903 in Kheda, Anand, and passed away in 1994.

Primary Objectives:

1. To eliminate nepotism and opacity in the cooperative sector
2. To develop trained and professional human resources in the sector so that only qualified and skilled youth get employment
3. To provide specialized education, training, and research in areas such as cooperative management, finance, law, rural development, accountancy, technical expertise, scientific temperament, and marketing
4. To prepare qualified staff and leadership for cooperative institutions and strengthen the cooperative movement in India
5. To integrate over 200 existing cooperative institutions within four years to strengthen the region’s academic infrastructure

Academic Structure:

• Based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
• Will offer PhD, degree, diploma, and certificate courses
• Will include subject-specific schools focused on cooperative management, finance, law, and rural development
• NCERT modules will be introduced to school students to teach the principles of cooperation

Legal Foundation:

• The Tribhuvan Cooperative University Bill, 2025 has been passed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• • Passed in Lok Sabha: 26 March 2025
  • Passed in Rajya Sabha: 1 April 2025

Constitutional & Legal Provisions:

• Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 granted constitutional status to cooperative societies
• Cooperative sector is regulated under:

• • Co-operative Societies Act, 1912
  • Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002
• MSCS (Amendment) Act, 2023 promotes transparency and good governance in multi-state cooperative societies

Cooperation in India – Background & Significance

Definition:

Cooperation is a socio-economic system where people voluntarily come together to work collectively for mutual benefit.

"Each for all and all for each"

Historical Timeline of Cooperative Movement in India:

Major Sectors Where Cooperation is Active:

Major Institutions in Cooperative Sector:

• AMUL is India’s most successful cooperative, key to the White Revolution
• IFFCO & KRIBHCO are leaders in fertilizer production & distribution
• NAFED plays a major role in agricultural marketing
• NCDC, National Cooperative Housing Federation, and National Federation of Fishermen’s Cooperatives are key organizations for cooperative development across India

97th Constitutional Amendment (2011):

Provided constitutional recognition and protection to cooperative societies.

Key Provisions:

1. Amendment to Article 19(1)(c):

    Citizens granted fundamental right to form cooperative societies

2. Insertion of Article 43B:

    Added to Directive Principles of State Policy, directing the state to promote voluntary formation, autonomous                    functioning, democratic control, and professional management of cooperative societies

3. Part IX-B (Articles 243ZH to 243ZT):

    A new constitutional part added, detailing:

• Formation, election, structure and tenure of boards
• Transparency, auditing, professional conduct of cooperatives