Context:
Recently, the Lok Sabha passed the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025, to establish India’s first national cooperative university at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat.
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The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3rd February 2025.
The Bill seeks to establish the Institute of Rural Management Anand, Gujarat (IRMA) as the “Tribhuvan” Sahkari University and IRMA will become one of the schools of the University.
- Currently, IRMA is registered as a society.
The Bill also declares IRMA as a centre of excellence for rural management.
There are currently about 8 lakh cooperative societies with 30 crore members in India.
A cooperative insurance company will also be set up soon that will provide insurance coverage to all cooperative societies in the country.
About the proposed University:
The university’s jurisdiction will be nationwide, and the cooperative training institutes in all States will be registered as schools or colleges under this university.
The university may establish outlying campuses or affiliate institutes in any other place in India or outside India.
The university will work on a hub-and-spoke model. It will have degree, diploma, and PhD courses. Around 8 lakh people are expected to get certification from the university per year.
- The hub and spoke model is a distribution system where a central hub connects to various spokes. It can be used in logistics, networking, and other areas.
The University is named after Tribhuvan Kashibhai Patel, the founder of the cooperative dairy Amul.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university will be appointed by the central government for a term of three years, and will be eligible for re-appointment for another two years.
The University will have a Board for Affiliation and Recognition for admitting or affiliating institutes.
The university will have a Governing Board and will be headed by the Chancellor, who will be a person of eminence and will be appointed by the central government for a term of 5 years.
Significance of the University
- It will further strengthen the cooperative sector in India.
- The university will not only train people but also upgrade the skills of those working in the sector.
- It will foster rural development and further create opportunities for self-employment and research, and innovation.
- The university will strengthen the present education and training infrastructure in the co-operative sector, which is “fragmented and grossly inadequate”.