Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha

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The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill by voice vote Amid religion Where the members of the opposition were demanding to discuss the issue of Manipur. The bill seeks to strengthen governance, reform the electoral process, improve the monitoring mechanism, and ensure ease of doing business in multi-state cooperative societies.

The bill was referred to a joint parliamentary committee in December last year. While piloting the bill, Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah said that the provisions in the bill will usher in a new era for the sector which was ignored by the previous governments. The bill was approved after a short discussion, during which only three members participated.

Immediately after the bill was passed, the House of Representatives was adjourned for the day by Speaker Om Birla.

In response to the bill, Shah told opposition MPs that the government was ready to discuss Manipur. However, even as both the opposition and the government claim they are ready to discuss, the deadlock persists as the two sides disagree over the clause under which the issue should be taken up.

Focus on eradicating poverty

Referring to several measures taken by the government in the cooperative sector after the establishment of a separate ministry, Shah said the center is focused on eradicating poverty by helping the cooperative sector.

The bill also aims to improve the composition of boards and ensure fiscal discipline, along with enabling fundraising in multi-state cooperative societies. India currently has more than 1,500 multi-state co-operative societies, many of which in recent years have suffered from trust issues, with financial scams shaking depositors’ confidence.

It was put in place under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in 2018. Also, all metropolitan and multi-state cooperative banks were brought under the regulatory scope of the Reserve Bank of India in 2020.

Along with the “simultaneous audit” proposal, the bill seeks to reform the composition of the MSCS board of directors; It proposes the establishment of a cooperative electoral commission to carry out electoral reforms in the sector, and the establishment of a “Cooperative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund”.