Cooperative movement and rural development in India

Abstract

On attainment of independence, the country decided to build its economics base in a planned manner. The cooperative sector was given due importance as a third sector which could act as a balancing factor by eliminating the drawbacks of the public and private sectors. Except for a few successful cooperatives, the cooperative movement in India has failed to bring about a transformation of the rural economy. Some theoretical issues on cooperative development as an alternative model of development are discussed. The future prospects of cooperatives in India have also been discussed in the context of liberalisation and globalisation.