Author: karthik

Amit Shah chairs ‘Manthan Baithak’ to mark International Year of Cooperatives 2025 Syllabus:Governace Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah Chairs ‘Manthan Baithak’ to Strengthen India’s Cooperative Movement On the occasion of the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the ‘Manthan Baithak’ in New Delhi, bringing together Cooperation Ministers from all States and Union Territories. Organized by the Ministry of Cooperation, the meeting focused on revitalizing India’s cooperative movement to align with contemporary development needs. Amit Shah underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the Ministry of Cooperation to restore India’s traditional cooperative culture while addressing current socioeconomic challenges. He emphasized that cooperation is essential for economic empowerment, especially for those with limited resources aspiring to entrepreneurship. Shah noted that when the Modi government took office in 2014, a majority of India’s population lacked basic amenities. Over the past decade, the government has successfully provided housing, toilets, clean drinking water, food security, healthcare, LPG cylinders, and more, significantly improving the quality of life. He stated that the next step for development is employment generation, particularly through the cooperative model. With India’s massive population, cooperatives offer a sustainable path for inclusive entrepreneurship and employment. The Government is developing a National Cooperative Database to identify underserved regions and ensure that every village has at least one cooperative within the next five years. The Tribhuvan Sahkari University will train cooperative personnel, and states have been urged to establish state-level cooperative training institutes affiliated with the university. A Model National Cooperative Policy will be launched to guide the sector for the next two decades, up to India’s centenary of independence. States must prepare and announce their own cooperative policies before January 31, 2026, tailored to local conditions. Shah attributed the weakening of past cooperative movements to outdated laws, lack of outreach, and nepotism in recruitment. He said laws have been modernized, and merit-based recruitment and transparency in cooperative banks are now mandated. With cooperative banks now under the Banking Regulation Act, and RBI support, further reforms are being implemented. Promotion of natural farming was a key agenda item. Shah urged collaboration between Cooperation and Agriculture Ministries to boost environmentally sustainable practices. He stressed the need to replicate Gujarat’s ‘Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives’ model nationally. The meeting also reviewed progress on setting up 2 lakh Multi-Purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (M-PACS) by February 2026, strengthening dairy and fisheries cooperatives, and implementing the world’s largest grain storage scheme under the cooperative sector. Amit Shah’s ‘Manthan Baithak’ reaffirms the Centre’s commitment to empowering India’s cooperative ecosystem. With policy reforms, infrastructure investments, skill development, and digital monitoring, India aims to make its cooperative movement a pillar of inclusive growth and rural prosperity. Consider the following with reference to the National Cooperative Database: It aims to ensure the presence of at least one cooperative institution in every district by 2030. It is designed to identify functional gaps and underserved regions for cooperative development. It will be integrated with the RBI’s core banking database for better regulatory oversight. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? A. 1 and 2 onlyB. 2 onlyC. 2 and 3 onlyD. 1, 2 and 3 Answer:BExplanation: The goal is one cooperative per village (not district). Statement 3 is speculative; such integration with RBI was not mentioned. Statement 2 is correct.2Bottom of Form Measuring poverty shouldn’t be about calories. India needs a thali index Syllabus:Governance The release of the 2023–24 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in January 2025 has triggered widespread discussion on India’s poverty levels. Two major reports—by State Bank of India (SBI) and the World Bank—have garnered significant attention for their optimistic assessments. The SBI report estimates rural poverty at 86% and urban poverty at 4.09% in FY24. The World Bank, using a different methodology, paints an even rosier picture: extreme poverty was only 2.8% in rural areas and 1.1% in urban India for 2022–23. If accurate, these figures would imply that India is on the brink of eradicating poverty.   Diverging Responses to the Estimates Government Supporters have hailed the numbers as validation of the Modi government’s policy successes over the past decade. Critics, however, question the reliability of the data due to changes in the consumption survey methodology since the last official round in 2011–12. They argue that comparisons across time are not valid. Neutral Observers have raised deeper concerns: whether these poverty measurements meaningfully reflect changes in standards of living, and whether methodological shifts allow for robust conclusions at all.   Bigger Policy Questions The strikingly low poverty numbers also raise an important policy dilemma: What do they imply for India’s existing subsidy and welfare architecture? If poverty is nearly eliminated, should food subsidies, free healthcare, and housing schemes be scaled back or redesigned? These recent poverty estimates, while offering hopeful signs, also revive longstanding debates around data comparability, living standards, and the future of welfare policy in India. The SBI’s recent estimate of poverty in India (FY24) differs from the World Bank’s in terms of: Poverty line benchmark used2. Underlying data set3. Year of reference4. Treatment of inflation adjustment Select the correct code: A. 1 and 2 onlyB. 2 and 3 onlyC. 1, 2 and 4 onlyD. All of the above  Answer:DExplanation: SBI and World Bank use different poverty lines SBI uses 2023–24 data, World Bank refers to 2022–23 Differences in inflation adjustment and methodology also exit Indian economy remains a key driver of global growth: RBI report Syllabus:Economy   Macroeconomic Outlook: Despite ongoing global economic uncertainties, India continues to be a major driver of global growth. This resilience is anchored in strong domestic fundamentals, fiscal prudence, and effective macroeconomic management. Domestic growth is supported by robust internal demand and structural reforms. The inflation outlook remains stable, with increasing confidence in achieving the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target. However, downside risks such as external spillovers and climate-related disruptions continue to pose challenges.   Financial System Resilience: The strength of India’s financial sector has