Warananagar (Maharashtra):

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday urged women to understand the importance of education, learn new technologies, give importance to environment conservation in daily life, help the needy, and always be ready to contribute to the development of the country.

In her remarks at the golden jubilee celebration of the Shri Warana Women Cooperative Group at Warananagar in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, she said that our individual and collective efforts will make India reach a higher position on the world stage.

President Murmu also said that the real secret of the success of any enterprise is its association with the common people. That’s why a democratic system and transparency are important for the success of cooperatives, she said, adding that in cooperative institutions, the interests of their members should be paramount.

It should always be kept in mind that no cooperative institution should become a means of personal interest and profit-making for any individual, otherwise, the very purpose of the cooperative will be lost, she stressed.

There should be real cooperation in cooperatives rather than anyone’s monopoly.

The President also said that cooperation is the best medium for making good use of the strength inherent in society.

“Principles of cooperation follow the spirit of justice, unity, and fraternity envisaged in the Constitution. When people of different classes and ideologies unite for cooperation, they get the benefit of social diversity. Cooperatives have played an important role in the economic development of the country. Household brands like Amul and Lijjat Papad are examples of such cooperatives,” she added.

The President said that if today India is the world’s largest milk producer, cooperative groups have made a significant contribution to this success. In almost all states, cooperatives mainly produce and distribute milk products. Not only milk, cooperative institutions are playing an important role in areas like fertilisers, cotton, handloom, housing, edible oil, and sugar.

She lauded cooperative institutions for making a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, food security, and management of natural resources.

“But in these rapidly changing times, they need to change themselves. They should use technology as much as possible and also make the management more professional,” President Murmu said.

She noted that many cooperatives are facing problems like lack of capital and resources, governance and management, and low participation, and said that connecting more and more youth to cooperatives can be important in this direction. Youth can transform those institutions by incorporating technology in governance and management, she said.

The President also advised cooperative institutions to explore new areas like organic farming, storage capacity building, and eco-tourism.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)