New Delhi, 12 August (H.S.):

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at expanding the mandate of the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) and strengthening its ability to provide financial assistance directly to cooperative societies.

The Bill, which amends the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act, 1962, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The legislation seeks to make the NCDC more effective and responsive to the changing needs of the cooperative sector.

Under the amended framework, the NCDC will be able to provide loans and grants directly to cooperative societies and other entities engaged in cooperative development, subject to applicable conditions and security requirements. The move is expected to reduce procedural delays and facilitate faster access to financial assistance.

With the approval of the Central Government, the NCDC will also be permitted to participate in the share capital of cooperative societies and other entities involved in cooperative development.

Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, while replying to the debate, said the Bill did not provide for any additional budgetary financial assistance from the government. He said the proposed amendments would instead broaden the NCDC’s mandate and financial scope.

Mohol said the changes would strengthen not only the NCDC but also the wider cooperative ecosystem by making it more modern, efficient and capable of responding to emerging requirements.

The government has said that various statutory bodies, state agencies and specialised organisations are increasingly involved in providing infrastructure, technology, processing, marketing and financial services for cooperative development. Since many of these entities are not registered as cooperative societies, the existing framework prevents the NCDC from financing them directly.

The amendments seek to address this limitation by widening the institutional channels through which financial assistance can be provided, while cooperative societies will continue to remain the primary beneficiaries.

The Bill also proposes to broaden the definition of “foodstuffs” to include additional food items that may be notified by the Central Government. It further seeks to remove the geographical restriction applicable to industrial goods, allowing assistance for eligible activities irrespective of their location.

In addition, the legislation proposes to confer further powers on the NCDC to enable it to discharge its functions more effectively and respond to the evolving requirements of the cooperative sector.

The NCDC is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Cooperation and was established in 1963 under the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act, 1962. The legislation was subsequently amended in 1973, 1974 and 2002.

The government has maintained that the amendments will provide greater flexibility and legal clarity to the NCDC while enabling more timely and direct financial assistance for cooperative development.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar