The Hindu : Karnataka News : Cooperative institutions should keep up with times: official

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Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Cooperative institutions should keep up with times: official

Staff Correspondent

‘Formulate new strategies to combat competition’

Cooperative institutions still favoured by the poor and middle classes
Loans worth Rs. 31,000 crore given to farmers in all villages

Chitradurga: Cooperative financial institutions should formulate new strategies to combat competition with multinational banks, Joint Registrar of the Cooperative Association B.K. Yedunath has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day seminar on Qualitative Lending and Recovery, organised jointly by the Karnataka State Cooperative Board Ltd., Karnataka State Credit Cooperative Associations’ Board for Executive Officers and the directors and presidents of the Chitradurga and Davangere Non-agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies here on Tuesday.

He said several nationalised and multinational banks had been offering loans at cheaper interest rates. To compete with them and to be an integral part of the market, it was necessary that the cooperative sector also made new plans. However, he said that while multinational banks were catering largely to the creamy layer of society, cooperative institutions were still popular among the poor and middle classes. “The motto of multinational banks is to gain profit, but cooperative societies also look at the aspect of service,” he added.

The cooperative sector, which was established with this purpose, had been serving for over 100 years. In developing countries such as India, the sector played a significant role in rendering financial assistance to the poor and middle classes, he said.

In his address, president of the Karnataka State Credit Cooperative Associations’ Board

B.L. Lakkegowda said that the country had over five lakh credit societies with a total of 22 crore members. The societies had a share capital of over Rs. 22,000 crore, while their working capital was over Rs. 38,000 crore. Over Rs. 31,000 crore worth loans had been given to farmers in almost all villages, he said.

He said cooperative associations held 60 per cent of the funds created through the production of sugar, 36 per cent with regard to production of chemical fertilizers and 50 per cent in edible oil production.

President of the district cooperative union K.R. Raju and Sahakara Ratna awardee B. Aradhya were present.

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