THE AMAN SANDESH TIMES
New Delhi :
The passage of the bill to establish India’s first national cooperative university, Tribhuvan Sahkari University, marks a transformative moment in the history of the Indian cooperative movement. Coming in the backdrop of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, the development has been hailed as a major step toward realizing the government’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity Through Cooperation).
Announced by Union Minister for Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, the university will be based in Anand, Gujarat—the cradle of India’s dairy cooperative revolution and home to the renowned Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), which will serve as the foundation for the new institution.
India has the world’s largest cooperative network, with over 800,000 cooperatives and 287 million members, playing a vital role in sectors such as agriculture, dairy, housing, and rural development. The launch of Tribhuvan Sahkari University is seen as a bold move to address the growing gap in professional education, training, and research within the sector.
Despite its vast scale, the cooperative sector has long faced challenges related to fragmented training infrastructure and a shortage of professionally qualified individuals. The new university seeks to bridge this gap by becoming a national hub for cooperative education, leadership development, and policy research.
The institution is named after Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, the visionary behind the AMUL model, and will aim to offer flexible academic and certification programs, digital learning modules, and research opportunities to cooperative employees, board members, and youth aspiring to build careers in the cooperative space.
As part of its broader agenda, the university is expected to:
Provide standardized training and curricula to strengthen cooperative governance
Empower existing cooperative personnel through structured learning
Attract new generations to the cooperative movement
Serve as a knowledge exchange platform for national and international cooperative stakeholders
Promote South-South cooperation and dialogue among developing nations
The move comes on the heels of multiple reforms spearheaded by the Ministry of Cooperation, including:
₹2,516 crore allocated for computerization of 67,390 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)
Formation of 2 lakh new multipurpose cooperatives
Transformation of 44,000 PACS into Common Service Centers
Creation of new national federations for seeds, exports, and organic products
Experts have praised the launch of the university, with Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director of the International Cooperative Alliance Asia and Pacific, calling it “a platform that can merge practice with policy and foster the next generation of cooperative leaders.”
Globally, cooperative education has played a critical role in building strong and sustainable movements. The fifth Cooperative Principle—Education, Training, and Information—remains a cornerstone of cooperative success, and India’s new university is poised to uphold that legacy on a national and international scale.
With India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi calling for stronger global collaboration among cooperatives, Tribhuvan Sahkari University is positioned to become a pivotal institution—educating, empowering, and energizing the cooperative movement and setting a new benchmark for inclusive, community-driven development.
The foundation has been laid. The university now carries the responsibility of building a future where cooperatives are not only tools for economic empowerment but also symbols of democratic, equitable progress.
