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IFFCO was established in the month of November in 1967 with 57 cooperatives and a mission to empower India’s farmers and feed a nation. Since then it has grown as a family of nearly 36,000 cooperatives representing over 50 million Indian farmers with overseas ventures in Oman, Jordan among others. How was IFFCO born?

IFFCO has been a member of the ICA since 1980, is a founding member of the ICETT and ranks first in the 2023 World Cooperative Monitor, based on the ratio of turnover over GDP per capita.

The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) is an apex organisation representing the entire cooperative movement in the country. It was established in 1929 as All India Cooperative Institutes Association and was re-organised as Indian Cooperative Union though the merger of Indian Povincial Cooperative Banks' Association with All India Cooperative Institutes Association, and later in 1961 as National Cooperative Union of India. Ever since then, the NCUI has been acting as torchbearer of cooperative movement in the country. Of late, it has diversified its activites and programmes to address the emerging issues affexting the cooperative movement.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED) was established on the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October 1958. Nafed is registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act. Nafed was setup with the object to promote Co-operative marketing of agricultural produce to benefit the farmers. Agricultural farmers are the main members of Nafed, who have the authority to say in the form of members of the General Body in the working of Nafed.

National Federation of Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd, (NACOF) has been established under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 2002 and registered on 4th November 2009 by the Joint Secretary & Central Registrar, Cooperative Societies in the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India at Registration No. MSCS/CR/320/2009. The membership of NACOF is 74 comprising of the State Level Federations, Distt Level Federations, and large size/primary level societies from States and Uts of India i.e. the Dehli, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa and, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Pondicherry. Copies of the registration certificates are appended.
The NACOF, being a Multi-State Cooperative Federation could establish branches or places of business anywhere in the country in accordance with Section 39 of the MSCS Act 2002. The commercial operations of the NACOF are undertaken on all India levels through its Head Office in New Delhi and Branches / Sub-Branches / Warehouses functioning in the State Capitals and other important cities / procuring centers.

Gujarat State Women’s SEWA Co-operative Federation’s history can be traced back to the struggle for workers’ rights led by the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). Since its inception in 1971 and recognition in 1972, the SEWA trade union has worked actively to promote the rights of women working in the informal economy. But, alongside the struggle for rights was the existing need of the women to earn a livelihood. SEWA initiated several cooperatives for these workers, across sectors. SEWA believes that the cooperative model creates fair employment and decent work, accounting for the needs of women in the informal economy.

Building cooperatives across sectors also brought to the forefront the needs of women workers to efficiently manage the co-operatives and to access markets. At a meeting in April 1992, 900 women from various categories of co-operatives presented issues and problems of their trade to the Union Minister of Cooperatives. While the cooperatives belonged to different trades and services, they all needed a strong, cohesive force that encouraged, catalyzed and led their growth: SEWA Federation was envisioned with this necessity in mind.

On 31st December 1992, India’s first Women’s Federation, the Gujarat State Women’s SEWA Co-operative Federation Limited was formally established. The Federation was tasked with supporting SEWA’s cooperatives in Capacity Building for Management, Marketing, and Policy and Advocacy Interventions with Key Stakeholders.

In 1996, the Federation became a member of the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI).

Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) is a premier National level Cooperative Society of India engaged in fertilizer production and distribution and is registered under Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002. KRIBHCO was founded in April 1980, to produce and distribute high-quality agricultural inputs, mainly chemical fertilizers, through cooperatives and institutional agencies. The paid-up share capital of KRIBHCO has been contributed by 9478 cooperative societies from all over the country. KRIBHCO believes in keeping with its cooperative philosophy and legacy while incorporating technology to better serve the nation.

KRIBHCO’s production facility is located at Hazira, Gujarat and its wholly-owned subsidiary KRIBHCO Fertilizers Limited (KFL) production facility is located at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Oman India Fertiliser Company S.O.A.C. (OMIFCO), a Joint Venture of KRIBHCO has its production facility in SUR, Oman. In addition to production of fertilizers, Society is also engaged in trading and distribution of bulk fertilizers like DAP, NPK, MOP etc.

The product basket of KRIBHCO comprises of Urea, DAP, NPK, MOP, SSP, Zinc Sulphate, Bio-Fertilizers, Certified Seed, Compost, Hybrid Seeds, BT Cotton etc. KRIBHCO distributes these products through its channel partners both in cooperatives and private retail. It also supplies products through and its own outlets, commonly known as KBSK’s.

National Federation of Fishers Cooperatives Ltd. (FISHCOPFED) is a national level federation of fisheries cooperatives and the apex institution of Indian Fisheries Cooperative Movement. Its motto is to promote and develop the fishery cooperative movement in India, to educate, guide and assist fishers in their efforts to build up and expand the fishery cooperative sector and serve as an exponent of cooperative opinion in accordance with cooperative principles. It was established in 1980 as All India Federation of Fishermen Cooperatives and was rechristened as National Federation of Fishers Cooperatives Ltd. in 1982.

National Yuva Co-operative society Ltd. (NYCS Ltd.) is multistate, multipurpose cooperative institution which works towards making the youth economically independent by engaging them in various employment or self employment related activities. The organization was formed in 1999 and registered under the section 7 of the Multistate Cooperative Societies Act 1984. The main activities of NYCS are facilitating youth, creating self- help groups, entrepreneurship development and capacity building of youth and other stakeholders for their economic empowerment.
 
NYCS Ltd. has a strong network in 603 districts across India. Since its inception NYCS has focused on developing and nurturing entrepreneurs across India. The beneficiaries are identified and are given Entrepreneurship training which includes Book keeping, marketing skills, soft skills, managerial skills, team management, leadership management and life skills.

Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative Limited (IFFDC) came into existence formally in 1993 although its work had begun in 1986-87. Its promoter, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), had launched programmes of eco-restoration and wasteland development through farm forestry in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and these programmes were subsequently handed over to the IFFDC for being scaled up and integrated with rural livelihood development and poverty alleviation programmes in the country.

Based on Community Needs, IFFDC has diversified its portfolio and has broadened its focus to include in addition to Farm Forestry and Climate Change, activities such as Watershed Management, Climate Proofing, Nutritional and Economic Security, Livelihoods, CSR initiative, Women Empowerment, Community Institution Building including Farmer Producer Organisations, Skill Development & Income Generation, Seed Production and Agri-Input Supply etc. This has been done by adopting approaches that are participatory in nature and designed to cater to the emerging and evolving needs of the community.

Over the past decade, IFFDC has also expanded its territorial scope of action and started sustained operations in the States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Assam. With its presence in more than 9,570 villages across 19 States covering all the agro-climatic zones, it has so far implemented rural development projects worth more than Rs. 320 crore.

With the objective to increase crop production & productivity, IFFDC is also undertaking Seed Production and Marketing Programme to provide quality seed and also supplying quality agri-inputs to farmers.

INDCOSERVE is India’s largest Tea Co-operative Federation working with around 30,000 small tea farmers, manufacturing about 13 million kgs of Black Tea annually. The value chain of INDCOSERVE spans over 16 Tea Factories and includes sourcing of green tea leaves from its member growers, processing, distribution and trading operations.

Set up in 1965 by the Government of Tamil Nadu, INDCOSERVE provides much needed guardianship to small tea growers in Nilgiris District as a catalyst. INDCOSERVE’s product range is marketed across the country and includes “Mountain Rose Tea (Leaf & Dust Grades)”, “BlueMont Tea (Premium Dust)” and “Ooty Tea” offered through “Fair Price Shops” under the Public Distribution System of Government of Tamil Nadu.

ESAF Swasraya Multi State Agro Co-operative Society Ltd (popularly known as ESMACO) is a Multi-state cooperative society registered under the Multi State Co Operative Societies Act of 2002, in October 2011, with the presence in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana & Delhi. The main objective of ESMACO is to promote overall economic betterment of members through financial inclusion in accordance with co-operative principles. Even though formally ESMACO has a history of around 10 years but its seeds were sown way back in the year 1992 when Mr. K. Paul Thomas (Chief Promoter of ESMACO and Founder of ESAF Group of Social enterprises) started an NGO, ESAF Society. ESAF Society was established in Thrissur, Kerala in 1992, as a response to the social and economical needs of the unemployed youth and the underprivileged. The vision of the Forum was guided by the principle of sustainable holistic transformation of the poor and the marginalized. The founders of ESAF ventured into microfinancing in 1995, in Grameen Model by organizing self-sustainable groups, to alleviate poverty and generate employment. The Grameen Bank (GB) model is based on the voluntary formation of small groups of people to provide mutual, morally binding group guarantees in lieu of the collateral required by conventional banks. Women were given equal access to the finance for their entrepreneurial and business activities. Since then, ESAF has grown by leaps and bounds in the Microfinance sector, promoting microfinance as a viable, sustainable and effective means for creating jobs and reducing poverty, through ESAF Microfinance and Investments P Ltd from the year 2008 to 2017 and through ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd from March 2017.

From 2011 to 2016, ESMACO was a credit Society taking care of the thrift needs of the members who are from deserving backgrounds and in the year 2016, honouring the mandate from the Reserve Bank of India in order to commence the operations of ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd, ESMACO surrendered its credit status and is presently acting as an Agro Society (From ESCCO to ESMACO).

At present, majorly the activity of ESMACO is to act as a Business Correspondent for ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd, managing the Micro Banking activities of the Bank and its Agency Network in rural pockets. Since the Society was earlier working as a Business Correspondent of Yes Bank and also that of M/s. ESAF Microfinance & Investments (P) Ltd., it is having considerable experience in the field.

Secondly ESMACO is largely into skill training activities through which the rural youth and women are empowered to undertake Income Generation Activities. It is partnering with ESAF NGO which is an approved nodal agency for implementing the DDU GKY project of the Government of India. ESMACO is having a vertical called Cooperative Facility Management Services which is into House Keeping and Livelihood support activities and is aiming to provide employment opportunities to half a million population. It is having a dedicated Member Services Department ensuring market linkages for the produces of SHG members and providing skill training and financial literacy programs. We are encouraging members to standardise their products with all statutory compliances and to make it compete along with mainstream products.

Further ESMACO is in the forefront of welfare activities to its members. It is working with Insurance Companies like IFFCO Tokyo, TATA AIG, United India Assurance and New India Assurance in providing coverage to its members and their families.

After the conversion from a credit Society to and Agri Society, ESMACO is in the forefront of many agri initiatives in the fields of organic farming, running of modal Agri nurseries and providing best agriculture and farming practises to its members.

Centre for Cooperative and Livelihood (CCL) was established under Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie under the chairmanship of the Director, LBSNAA, with the objective to sensitize the Officers about potential and prospects of the cooperative sector, to facilitate research & studies in cooperative sector and to generate relevant training material. 

The Centre for Cooperatives and Livelihoods (CCL), earlier named Centre for Cooperatives and Rural Development (CCRD) has been started under the umbrella of Centre for Public Systems Management (CPSM) at LBSNAA, under the chairmanship of Director, LBSNAA, Mussoorie with some initial funding from Department of Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India. However, recently the Center has been renamed as Centre for Cooperatives and Livelihood (CCL).

In the past, the Centre has collaborated with leading global institutions such as the Department of Agrarian Law The Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, the Netherlands for research  on cooperatives and rural development including organization, management linkages with government programs, legal aspects, role in poverty alleviation and such other areas relevant to the training of Indian government officers. The Centre has also taken up studies with academic and think tanks in the sector such as the National Dairy Development Board(NDDB), National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management(MANAGE), Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing(NIAM), Institute of Rural Management Anand(IRMA), VAMNICOM(Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management), ISI Kolkata.

The Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), is one of the oldest labour cooperatives in India owned and managed by workers. They are a Total Solution Provider (TSP) for infrastructure development and management projects. Having completed 7500+ projects over the last century, they have evolved, diversified and won international accolades. They have a strong foothold in the construction sector and have completed many prestigious projects for Kerala State government departments like finance, co-operation, local self government, labour department, information technology, tourism and public work department (PWD).

They pride themselves on early completion, assuring quality and precision. Their model cooperative and initiatives have won them national and international recognition. They have been recognised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a model Cooperative. They are the only primary cooperative society in India to be a member of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). They are also a National Skill Development Council accredited agency.

The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Cooperation.

Planning, promoting and financing programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, food stuffs, certain other notified commodities e.g. fertilisers, insecticides, agricultural machinery, lac, soap, kerosene oil, textile, rubber etc., supply of consumer goods and collection, processing, marketing, storage and export of minor forest produce through cooperatives, besides income generating stream of activities such as poultry, dairy, fishery, sericulture, handloom etc.

NCDC Act has been further amended which will broad base the area of operation of the Corporation to assist different types of cooperatives and to expand its financial base. NCDC will now be able to finance projects in the rural industrial cooperative sectors and for certain notified services in rural areas like water conservation, irrigation and micro irrigation, agri-insurance, agro-credit, rural sanitation, animal health, etc.

Loans and grants are advanced to State Governments for financing primary and secondary level cooperative societies and direct to the national level and other societies having objects extending beyond one State. Now, the Corporation can also go in for direct funding of projects under its various schemes of assistance on fulfillment of stipulated conditions.

The Management vests in 51 member widely represented General Council to give shape to its policies and programmes and Board of Management with 12 members to cater to day-to-day activities (Gazette notification dated 24 Jan, 2022 related to General Council and Board of Management of NCDC). Besides its Head Office, NCDC functions through 18 Regional/State Directorates. The Managing Director is the Chief Executive. Various functional divisions look after the programmes. The field offices play an important role in project identification/formulation and oversee its implementation. NCDC is endowed with in-house technical and managerial capabilities in the areas of Cooperation, Organisation & Methods, Financial Management, Management Information Systems, Sugar, Oilseeds, Textiles, Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy, Poultry and Live stock, Fishery, Handlooms, Civil Engineering, Refrigeration and Preservation to help cooperatives to identify/formulate projects and successfully implement them.

The National Federation of State Co-operative Banks Ltd. (NAFSCOB), was established on 19th May 1964 with a view to facilitate the operations of State and Central Co-operative Banks in general and Development of Co-operative Credit in particular.

The specific objectives of NAFSCOB are:

• To provide a common forum to the member banks to examine the problems of Co-operative credit, banking and allied matters and evolve suitable strategies to deal with them.
• Promote and protect the interests of the member banks in all spheres of their activities and to give expression to the views of the member banks.
• Co-ordinate and liaison with Government of India , Reserve Bank of India respective State Governments, NABARD and other higher financing institutions for the development of Co-operative credit on behalf of the member banks.
• Provide research and consultancy inputs to the member banks in order to facilitate them to strengthen their own organizations.
• Organise conferences/seminars/workshops/meeting to share the views of common interest with a view to contribute for better policy decisions.

National Cooperative Agriculture & Rural Development Banks Federation Ltd is the apex level organization of Agriculture & Rural Development Banks at the national level. The Federation was set up in 1960 and is administered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.

The long term cooperative credit structure consists of the State Cooperative Agriculture & Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) and Primary Cooperative Agriculture & Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs) which are affiliated to the SCARDBs. The total No. of SCARDBs are 16; of which 7 have Federal Structure, 7 have Unitary Structure and 2 have Mixed Structure (i.e. operating through PCARDBs as well as its own branches)

Tirumalla Tirupati Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Limited is a Multi State Co-Operative Society registered under Multi State
Co-Operative Society Act 2002, having its registration number MSCS/CR/784/2013 and the registration date is the 8th day of
February 2013. The primary objective of the society is to uplift the social and financial status of its members by promoting/educating
saving habits amongst them. The saving products can be in the shape of Fixed Deposits, Recurring Deposits,Monthly Income Schemes
and some other investment plans. The society has its registered office in Mumbai. The area of operation of the societyis limited
to the areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. The norms and all the rules related to the society are defined under the Byelaws
of the society.

The Tirumalla Tirupati Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Limited strictly abides by the Multi State Co-Operative Society Act 2002, doing its financial business amongst its members of the society.

Further The Society uses the funds in lending to the members and investment as per the Co-Operative Society Act/Rules/Byelaws. Our registration guidance and controlling authority are Central Registrar of Co-Operative Societies, Department of Agriculture & Co-Operation, Ministry of Agriculture and Government of India.