New Delhi : On 17th July 2025, something historic unfolded in the heart of Mithila, at the vibrant cultural hub of Mithila Haat, Madhubani. It wasn’t just an event—it was the beginning of a new era. With thunderous applause, and community involvement and the presence of farmers, women, youth, and visionaries, Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Ramdas Athawale launched India’s first-ever set of five Multistate Cooperatives with over 50% representation from disadvantaged groups—SC, ST, OBC, women, and minorities. The air was electric. It was a proud moment for inclusive India, for grassroots India, for a cooperative Bharat that puts dignity, equity, and ownership into the hands of those who till, build, and nurture the nation.
The soul behind this people’s movement is the World Cooperation Economic Forum (WCOOPEF), led by Shri Binod Anand, Member of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s High-Powered Committee on MSP Reforms and a nationally respected farmer leader. “This is not just about cooperatives,” he said, “this is about correcting history—by shifting power back to our people.” His vision is rooted in the idea that price support (MSP) is only one part of justice; true empowerment happens when farmers become shareholders, women become value chain leaders, and youth become torchbearers of transformation.
The five cooperatives are more than institutions—they are pathways to a sustainable and just Bharat. Each tackles a real, urgent problem. Each builds collective bargaining, ownership, and resilience.
Five Cooperatives, Five Pathways to a Sustainable and Just Bharat
Har Khet Ko Pani multistate Cooperative :
With over 52% of India’s farmland still rainfed, smallholders are often left at the mercy of the monsoon. This cooperative steps in to change that—developing community-led watershed systems, micro-irrigation hubs, and ensuring equitable water access. It directly supports the LiFE movement, helping villages adopt regenerative farming and curb groundwater exploitation—paving the way for true water democracy.
Biofuel Maize Cooperative is another innovation. Bihar’s maize farmers often get just 30–40% of the consumer rupee, despite the state being among India’s top producers. These cooperative aggregates maize for ethanol production, powering India’s 20% Ethanol Blending Program. It also helps farmers earn through carbon credits—making them key players in the fight against climate change. Globally, over 600 million people depend on biofuel economies—this is Bihar’s entry ticket to that league.
Mithila Makhana Mahila Cooperative is the result of produce centricity in the value chain. The GI-tagged Makhana of Mithila is a global superfood, yet the women who cultivate it remain underpaid. These cooperative flips the script—putting SHGs and women leaders in charge of processing, branding, and export. As global demand for Makhana surges past $1.5 billion, this becomes a women-led wellness revolution, rooted in tradition and powered by modern markets.
Horticulture Export Corridor Cooperative in multistate format will provide bargaining power to the farmers for most perishable items. India is a fruit and vegetable powerhouse and have potential to feed whole southeast Asia and in the cooperative economic framework. Only 2% reaches international markets. These cooperatives announced will work in PACS to APEX mode and may build cold chains, processing units, and export clusters to fix that gap and will complement the effort of three new Cooperative formed last year by Ministry of cooperation . By integrating smallholders into global supply chains, it links nutrition security with export earnings and ensures that Eastern India becomes a horticulture export engine.
Gramin Urja Cooperative will prepare the nation to shift it from SDG to ESG transition.With over 240 million people still living in energy poverty worldwide, the Gramin Urja Cooperative turns villages into prosumers—producers and consumers—of solar, biogas, and CBG energy. It localizes energy grids, reduces emissions, and ensures that the clean energy revolution doesn’t bypass the poor—but is led by them.
These five cooperatives reflect the larger vision of the Ministry of Cooperation’s 54 proposed reforms, from ease of registration and digitalisation to capacity building and financial access. But reforms don’t work from files alone. They need feet on the ground, hands in the soil, and hearts in the mission. That’s what this model delivers: one framework, five cooperatives, many solutions, deeply rooted, widely spread.
To take this mission beyond the economy into the soul of the nation, the event also launched the Football Tournament “From Grassroots to Greatness”. The game isn’t just about scoring goals, it’s about instilling discipline, unity, and confidence in rural youth. Inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s timeless message—that strength and spirit go hand in hand—this tournament reflects the emotional and moral bedrock of the cooperative movement.
And the energy won’t stop here. Shri Manish Shanghani, Chairman of WCOOPEF’s Campus Cooperative Wing, kicked off the Campus Cooperative Campaign—starting from Bihar and moving across 500 campuses nationwide. The aim is to embed cooperative thinking into youth consciousness—creating not just job seekers, but job creators, community leaders, and changemakers who will lead Bharat into a self-reliant future.
To consolidate this momentum, WCOOPEF has organized a Series of roundtables with wider participation of practioner which culminated to five sector-specific Panchayats in Mithila Haat—each focused on water, energy, maize, Makhana, and horticulture. These aren’t just meetings, they’re people’s policy platforms, where grassroots wisdom meets institutional support. The result? A Cooperative Economic Zone—with federated clusters, youth innovation hubs, and region-wide planning to drive inclusive growth with cooperative strength.
A Visionary Conclusion: From Cooperative to Constitutional
Speaking at the event, Shri Binod Anand reminded the gathering that this isn’t just a development model—it’s a constitutional duty. “Every farmer, every woman, every youth deserves not just a price—but a place at the table. A right to own, to decide, to grow.” These cooperatives, he said, transform the farmer from a seller to a shareholder, from a price-taker to a price-maker.
This is not charity. It is Nyaya (justice), Samanta (equality), and Gaurav (dignity) in action. It’s about grounding the Paanch Pran vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister—and doing it not with slogans, but with systems. What began in Mithila is not limited to Bihar. It is a template for Viksit Bharat@2047, where the village is not left behind—but leads the way.
From cooperative laws to cooperative lives—from paper reforms to people’s power—the revolution has begun. And it carries with it the dreams of millions, stitched together by sweat, solidarity, and shared purpose.
