New Delhi:
The director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) expressed concern about the growing income inequality between urban and rural India and said on Wednesday that the business model of cooperatives needs to be strengthened for the development of smallholder farmers, workers, retailers and consumers.
GCMMF markets its milk and other dairy products under the Amul brand. It is a leading dairy player in the country.
Speaking at a conference organized by the trade association CII, the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), Mr Sodhi said: “If India is to develop, we must ensure that Bharat develops. Bharat can only develop through cooperative way of doing business, because that model only takes care of little people.”
He notes that for a year now, the cooperative sector has been discussed everywhere again.
Mr Sodhi stressed that the Prime Minister has given the slogan ‘Sahakar se Samriddhi’ meaning prosperity through cooperatives, and has also established a separate Ministry of Cooperation under the helm of the Union’s Home Affairs Minister, Amit Shah.
This shows the government’s commitment to the idea of prosperity through cooperatives.
“So can you think why this sudden change and why this interest in co-ops? India is growing. Our growth rate is much, much faster than in other parts of the world. Per capita income is growing. So why? I think our policy makers and politicians leadership has realized that India is growing but Bharat is not growing Incomes are increasing but income is going more to the people who are already rich It is type K growth People who have wealth are growing at a much, much faster pace. People at the bottom, their wealth is declining,” he said.
Mr Sodhi pointed out that income inequality is increasing, especially between urban and rural India, or between India and Bharat.
According to the director of Amul, the Indian economy is based on three ‘S’: small farmers, small traders and small workers; small retailers and small intermediaries; and small consumers.
“If India is to develop, we need to make sure that all these three ‘S’ are involved in the development process. They share the wealth and prosperity of India. Now people have realized that only a business model that is successful to provide for these ‘three S’ is a cooperative way of doing business,” Sodhi said.