India’s cooperative giants, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), have once again demonstrated remarkable global leadership.
- India’s cooperative giants, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), have once again demonstrated remarkable global leadership.
- They have been ranked among the world’s top cooperatives based on performance in per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
- The domestic dairy giant, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Amul), has emerged as the world’s number one cooperative, while the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has secured the position of the world’s second-largest cooperative.
About ICA Global Ranking
- This ranking has been prepared by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) World Cooperative Monitor 2025, headquartered in Brussels. The list was announced at the ICA CM 50 Conference in Doha, Qatar.
- First edition: Started in 2012, this monitor has been compiled annually since then, providing a decade-long comparative dataset on cooperative performance worldwide.
- Top 300 cooperative ranking: Lists the world’s 300 largest cooperatives based on turnover and the ratio of per capita Gross Domestic Product.
- Sectoral analysis: Includes sectors such as agriculture, insurance, retail, industry, and health.
- Every year, the World Cooperative Monitor, developed in partnership with EURICSE (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises), analyzes the economic and social impact of the world’s largest cooperatives in various sectors.
- Amul and IFFCO received this recognition just before the conclusion of the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025.
- International Cooperative Alliance Established in 1895, it is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations and one of the largest in terms of the number of people it represents. More than 306 organizations from 105 countries are members of the International Cooperative Alliance.
Cooperative Societies in India
- Origin: Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904.
- Constitutional Recognition: ‘Cooperative Societies’ is a State subject under the Seventh Schedule.
- Article 19(1)(c) provides the fundamental right to form cooperative societies, and Article 43B directs the State to promote them.
- Part IX-B (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT) provides a legal framework for their democratic functioning. These provisions were introduced by the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011.
- The 97th Amendment Act, 2011, granted citizens the fundamental right to form cooperative societies and inserted Article 43B in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
- Legal Framework: Cooperatives operating in more than one state/union territory are governed by the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 (amended in 2023).
- Whereas cooperatives located within a single state are governed by the respective state/union territory acts.
- India accounts for more than one-fourth of the world’s cooperatives (over 8.44 lakh).
- Top States: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Major initiatives to strengthen cooperatives in India
- Establishment of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) in 1963.
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982.
- Establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021.
- National Cooperation Policy 2025
- Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited or Amul (Headquarters: Anand, Gujarat)
- It is a type of cooperative marketing society founded in 1946 by Tribhuvandas Patel. It covers 33 districts representing 3.6 million milk-producing members.
- IFFCO or Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (Headquarters: New Delhi)
- Established in 1967 as a multi-state cooperative society
