New Delhi, Apr 1 (UNI) The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025 by voice vote, rejecting the amendments of the Opposition, thus giving it the approval of Parliament.

The Lok Sabha had already passed this bill.

Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol, while responding to the discussion on the bill which lasted for nearly four and a half hours, said that this university is being established to institutionalise the cooperative sector in the country.

The cooperative sector will need 17 lakh youth in the coming times and this university will help in fulfilling this need.

He said that two lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are being formed to connect every village of the country with PACS. Out of these, 14,000 committees have already been formed. The presence of a woman and a member of the Scheduled Caste has been made mandatory in every PACS.

He said that the government is taking several steps to strengthen the cooperative system in the states and a database of cooperative institutions is being prepared across the country.

Mohol said that India has set a target to become the third largest economy of the world by the year 2027. There are eight lakh cooperative institutions in the country with 20 crore members.

He said that the budget of cooperatives has increased tenfold and it has reached Rs 1100 crore. A separate cooperative ministry has been formed to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country. PACS are being computerized across the country.

Responding to questions raised about the name of the bill, he said that Tribhuvan Das Ji laid the foundation of cooperation in the country and in view of his contribution, his name has been associated with it and it is a matter of pride for the country.

UNI RBE SSP