Organic products sold under Amul and Bharat brands are 100% genuine: Amit Shah
Launching Amul’s first organic shop in New Delhi and “Bharat Organic Atta” at an event in Gujarat on Saturday, Union Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah said the organic products made available under the “Amul” and “Bharat” brands are 100 per cent genuine and have been tested using state-of-the-art technologies.
Addressing the 102nd International Cooperative Day at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Shah endorsed two organic brands and said, “We have two organic brands. One is Bharat Organics belonging to NCOL (National Cooperatives Organic Ltd) and the second is Amul. Both are trusted brands. I want to appeal to the people of the country to place their trust in these brands and buy them. They are 100 per cent organic and the Government of India has ensured the same. The state-of-the-art technology available in the world has been used to test if the food made available under the organic brands is actually genuine organic products.”
During the event in Gujarat, Shah also inaugurated the Bharat Organic Atta produced by NCOL and the first Amul Organic Shop at Mayur Vihar in New Delhi. The Union Minister also thanked the Gujarat government for providing a 50 per cent subsidy to farmers for purchasing Nano Urea and Nano DAP.
Talking about setting up cooperative bodies in all districts of India by the end of 2029, Shah said, “No district should be left without a viable district cooperative bank or a viable milk cooperative. If we do this, only then can we increase the base of the cooperative movement. There are still two lakh panchayats in the country that do not have a single cooperative. We have targeted to set up multi-purpose PACS (Primary Agriculture Credit Society).”
Shah said his ministry has also analysed why PACS become weak. “There is no big profit now in providing agricultural loans. There should not be big profits in this. Farmers should get loans at cheaper rates. So we made model bylaws for PACS. I am happy to state that despite PACS being a state subject, all states have accepted these model bylaws. We have made PACS multipurpose. It can function as a dairy, it can open shops selling cheaper food grains or medicines, it can sell fertilisers, install petrol pumps, make railway or airplane ticket bookings, etc,” he added. Later in the day, Shah is expected to travel to Banaskantha and Panchmahal districts in Gujarat to review the workings of cooperatives bodies.