The Gujarat State Cooperative Union, Ahmedabad

How it came about about cooperative and

Gujarat is one of the most representing cooperative
cooperatively advanced movement to promote
states in India. This was the research regarding problems
State which made India self and prospects for
sufficient in milk and milk cooperatives, publish
production through dairy propaganda materials for
cooperative movement. cooperatives and conduct
After bifurcation of the then training programmes for
Bombay state in the year employees & board members
1960 into Gujarat and at its six training centres in
Maharashtra, it was a felt the state.
need to have an
organisation, which can play GSCU shares responsibility
pivotal role in cooperative with NCCT for training middle
propaganda, member level executives at
education and strengthening Udaybhansinghji Regional
of cooperative movement in Institute of Cooperative
the state. Therefore, the Management at Gandhinagar.
Union was formed in 1960 to URICM has been organising,
provide cooperative annually, more than 60 need
education, training, publicity, based training programmes
information and guide on various subjects and
various cooperatives in the sectors along with a 24
state. It acts as a federation weeks Higher Diploma
of 19 District Cooperative Course in Cooperation. 50%
Unions. of its budget is met by GSCU.
The Union has also been
What it does organising training
The Gujarat State Coop. programmes for primary
Union (GSCU) has lot of societies at its five training
activities to perform for centres located at Nadiad,
cooperative movement in the Mehsana, Surat, Bhavnagar
State, like imparting and Rajkot. All the five
member's education about Centres have been
important aspects of organising at least two
cooperative movement, sessions of 24 weeks
facilitating opinion formation Diploma in Cooperation
Facts & Figures besides organising
Programmes on Auditing,
Banking, Dairy etc., and
Organisation type - Federation of District level Unions
other relevant subjects
Legal Form - Registered under Gujarat Coop.
required by the primaries.
Societies Act The general health of these
Date established - 19th April 1960 institutions need to be taken
Location - Ahmedabad (Gujarat) care of including the
No.of Members - It is an Apex Federation of 19 selection of the faculty who
district level Cooperative Unions are either on extension or
Main Functions - Cooperative Training Education, their services were hired
Research, Development & Publicity after their retirement.
____________________

Case study prepared by Prof. Paramjit Sharma, VAMNICOM, Pune

For member education, the celebrating centenary year.
GSCU is taking help of 38 Almost all cooperatives
male Cooperative Education organisations were involved
Instructors who are working in the celebration and lot of
in 19 districts. They are publicity materials have been
constantly organising used in this event. Series of
education programmes for statements/slogans made by
members, board members eminent personalities like
and employees at Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar
taluka/village level. They Lal Nehru, Sardar Patel,
also organise camps for the Vaikunth Bhai Mehta etc.,
public to make them aware were exclusively displayed on
of the contribution of the banners, which were
cooperative sector in the placed at important locations
rural economy of the State. in the State. Some
Union organises special significant Cooperatives like
programmers for women Amul (GCMF), Bardoli Sugar
through 19 Female (Largest Cooperative in
Cooperative Education India), KRIBHCO, IFFCO,
Instructors posted in each of etc., along with their
19 districts. GSCU has been activities & performance
allotted two field Education were projected during the
Projects by National celebration. A Souvenir on
Cooperative Union of India this occasion was also
(NCUI). These projects are brought out where along with
located at Ahmedabad the contributions of
(Rural) and Surendranagar. cooperative movement in the
Each project comprises of a state, eminent personalities
Project Officer, 3 Education contributed their thoughts
Instructors, one Lady and articles in this Souvenir.
Cooperative Education
Instructor and one Farm Governance Structure
Guidance Instructor. The
projects concentrate on all All 19 district level Unions
sided development of are members of GSCU.
selected PACS. Besides, district level unions,
district level banks, central
GSCU undertakes different financing agencies, the area
activities to popularise the of operation of which is not
achieve-ments of cooperative less than a district, apex
movement among the level societies, and certain
general public at large. It other types of societies could
publishes weekly Sahakar become members of the
and monthly magazine Gram Union. By the end of 2004-
Swaraj to project cooperative 2005, there were 265
movement in the State. members of the GSCU, which
Both the magazines contain included 19 district
news, articles and other cooperative unions, 9 state
related information about level Cooperative
cooperatives in the state. Institutions, 15 District
Central Cooperative Banks,
33 District level Cooperative
Centenary Celebration Societies and 189 other
types of cooperative
GSCU has taken a lead in the societies.
State for the celebration of
Centenary year (1904-2004) The Board of the GSCU
in India. Lot of efforts were comprises of 27 members,
made by the Union in drawn from all 19 District
Unions, State level the Union is not into a
Cooperative Institution, two business but only provide
persons of district level training and education to
cooperative banks, 2 persons cooperatives. The Chairman
from dairy union and a is Ahmedabad based,
representative of Urban therefore, he visits Union
Banks and PACS. The board quite frequently and takes
meets at least once in a care in implementing
quarter. The other activities decisions taken during the
are taken care of by sub- board and sub committee
committees like Education meetings. Regular activities
Committee, publication are performed by Chief
committee, staff committee, Executive along with other
shield committee, women supportive staff. The Union
cooperative education has constructed a seven
committee. Surprisingly storeyed building in the
these sub-committees meet seventies, which has housed
only twice in a year which training hall, conference
appears to be quite room, library besides the
unreasonable by any general office occupied by
standard. The board the staff. The general
members are paid sitting fee, maintenance, upkeep and
daily allowance and travel quality of house keeping
expenses for attending the reflects the quality of
meeting of their respective governance at the Union.
committees. The perform-
ance of the board members GSCU takes special care in
is evaluated by the organising training
Chairman, Vice Chairman programmes for its board
and Secretary though there members. They assess their
is no formal process at place training needs at district level
for such evaluation. and state level and provide
training at Udaibhansinghji
The GSCU organises at least Institute of Management,
once in three years a Gandhinagar, Vaikunth Mehta
Seminar on some current National Institute of Coop.
topic where 4-5 thousand Management, Pune and
delegates from state level, National Institute for
district level and block level Cooperative Education, New
cooperatives participate. The Delhi. In the past the
last such Seminar was Chairman and more than half
organised in 2001. The next of their board members have
Seminar was slotted in the attended training of national
year 2004, but instead Union and international importance.
decided to use the occasion
for Centenary Celebration. The Union is well represented
The Union has also shown at the national level as the
concern for the community, Chairman of the Union is also
when it constituted 15 teams member of the board of
for providing relief during National Cooperative Union
earthquake at Kutch and of India, National Film and
Bhuj. All the district unions, Fine Arts Cooperative, Indian
supported the move not only Adult Education Society,
in providing manpower, but Indian Farmers Fertiliser
also in collection of funds. Cooperative Ltd., Indian
Society for Studies in
The Board and sub- Cooperation. Similarly, the
committees of the board, do representatives from all tiers
not meet too frequently, as
 than 1 crore 25 lakhs present. Therefore, the
members in cooperatives. It Union should make a plan to
may be difficult to educate have a separate training
the large number of centre for each district,
members through five where training programmes
centres and 57 instructors, on dairy, banking, credit,
including lady instructors, auditing,accounts, computer-
which have been placed in 19 isation etc., can be organised
districts for member and awareness education
education. By any programmes for members
standards, Gujarat has one could also be strengthened to
of the best Cooperatives in meet the compelling
dairy, sugar, urban banking demand.
and primary credit coops.
Though NDDB & Gujarat The faculty deployed in these
Coop. Milk Marketing centres are either retired
Federation have been taking persons or quite fresh in
care for the education of cooperatives. Though Union
dairy cooperatives, but for has been sending these
rest of the sector it may be trainers on training to
having quite inadequate VAMNICOM and other
force to educate such a large training centres, but trainers
of Cooperatives in Gujarat number of members about are not sufficiently equipped
are part of board of the cooperative philosophy and to handle adult training. If
GSCU. To coordinate the other business intricacies. recruitment of permanent
represent-ation of the faculty is a problem then
cooperative movement within But considering the statistical these Centers can prepare a
Government a Gujarat State figures of training panel of trainers who could
Cooperative Council has been programmes of be invited to cover the areas
formed, which meets at least Udaibhansinghji Institute, for which permanent faculty
once in a month. The training programmes at five is not available.
Chairman, GSCU is the training centres, Cooperative
member of that Council. Education & Training Lot of space at seven
During the meetings, issues Programmes conducted by storeyed building of the
concerning development of District Cooperative Unions, Union is remaining unutilised.
cooperative movement in the Cooperative Education Union, instead can use this
state, impediments against Instructors, Education & space in organising some
development and sectoral training programmes under value based programme for
progress is discussed. In the Women Coop. Education these district level unions or
past, many issues of state Scheme, it looks quite generate resources by
importance and their impact impressive though organising programmes for
on cooperatives have been inadequate. For instance, all Dairy Cooperatives or Urban
resolved. the district level Unions, Banks.
Women Cooperative
Measures of Success Instructors who are directly GSCU plans to become
in touch with the members number one Union in India in
The main function and could educate only thirty terms of their programmes
activities of GSCU are thousand males and forty for education, training,
training and education to thousand females, put publicity & development in
employees and members of together. Whereas the total the state. It has resources
Cooperatives in Gujarat. It is membership strength in and infrastructure to do that.
assisting five training centres Gujarat exceeds more than 2 The Union can hire some one
located at Nadiad, Mehsana, crores. from outside to prepare a
Surat, Bhavnagar and perspective plan, which can
Rajkot, which are quite less Future Perspective guide the Union towards
in number considering the achieving their goal.
number of district level GSCU represents 19 district
unions, which are 19 in total. level Federations but it has
Gujarat has attracted more only five training centres at