Parliament passes bill to set up 'Tribhuvan Sahkari University' at Anand

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to set up 'Tribhuvan Sahkari University' at Anand in Gujarat with an aim to create a qualified manpower for co-operative societies.

Rajya Sabha passed the 'Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill 2025' with a voice vote. As many as 28 members participated in the debate on the bill in the House.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 26, 2025.

The university has been named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, who was one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement in India and instrumental in laying the foundation of Amul.

Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said this is the country's first university dedicated to the cooperative sector. This university will be given the status of an institute of national importance.

The cooperative university will have a capacity to train 8 lakh people every year.

Stating that an estimated 17 lakh trained professionals would be required in the co-operative sector over the next five years, Mohol said this university will help in fulfilling this need.

"Co-operative movement is being strengthened in the country. To further expand the co-operative sector, there is a need for an institutional system," Mohol said, while speaking on the need for this University.

"This university will help in providing skilled manpower and prepare co-operative leadership," he said, adding that this will also encourage youth to take co-operative as their long-term career.

The minister said there are more than 8 lakh co-operative societies in the country with 30 crore members..

He highlighted the measures taken by the Modi government in the last 10 years to strengthen the co-operative sector, including creation of a separate ministry. He also accused the Congress Party of neglecting this sector.

Mohol noted that 2 lakh new Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) will be formed in the country to strengthen this sector.

The proposed university will also address the long-pending issue of capacity building of employees and board members in the co-operative sector in a pan-India and focused manner.

According to the Bill, it is essential that a comprehensive, integrated and standardised structure is created for education, training and research by establishing a national university to ensure a stable, adequate and quality supply of professionally qualified manpower for different categories of jobs in co-operatives such as managerial, supervisory, administrative, technical and operational.

The "Tribhuvan" Cooperative University Bill, 2025, aims to provide education and training in the cooperative sector through Tribhuvan Cooperative University, build youth capacity, establish centres of excellence offering degree programmes, distance education, and e-learning courses, and train approximately 8,00,000 individuals annually, while creating sector-specific 'Schools of Excellence' in areas like dairy and fisheries.

The "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University will ensure a steady supply of trained human resources for new initiatives, unify 284 cooperative training institutes across India, enhance the capacity of existing centres, increase long-term cooperative courses nationwide, and establish a comprehensive and integrated system for education and training in the cooperative sector. PTI KKS MJH SKC MJH MR

Source: PTI