Photo Source: Babushai Bureau
MP Satnam Singh Sandhu urges Centre to set up Tribhuvan Sahkari University hub in Punjab
Hails National Cooperation Policy 2025
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, February 3, 2026 — Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Satnam Singh Sandhu on Tuesday urged the Union government to establish a regional centre of Tribhuvan Sahkari University, India’s first cooperative university, in Punjab to infuse new energy into the state’s cooperative sector through professionalism, innovation and new-age leadership.
Raising the issue through a Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha, Sandhu said Punjab’s cooperative sector has historically been the backbone of the state’s rural economy but is now facing serious challenges and needs urgent reform and digital transformation.
“The cooperative sector is a symbol of India’s collective consciousness. It is not merely a financial system but a culture of shared growth. Punjab has nurtured this tradition for more than 135 years. From land consolidation to the Green and White Revolutions, cooperatives have remained the undisputed backbone of Punjab’s agriculture and rural economy,” Sandhu said.
Highlighting the scale of the sector, the MP said Punjab has around 20,000 cooperative societies with nearly 35 lakh members, impacting the lives of a large section of the population. He cited the success of Punjab MARKFED, which has grown into Asia’s largest marketing cooperative with a turnover of ₹22,000 crore, and Punjab MILKFED’s Verka, which with 6,300 village-level societies and 3.5 lakh members has emerged as a major national brand. Sandhu also noted that nearly 60 per cent of the fertiliser market in Punjab is handled by cooperative societies, ensuring farmers’ self-reliance and reduced dependence on private companies.
However, Sandhu cautioned that the cooperative sector in Punjab is now facing saturation and structural challenges, including rising non-performing assets (NPAs) in cooperative banks and issues of corruption. “The sector is currently focused on survival rather than moving towards scale, innovation and new-age leadership,” he said.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for establishing the Ministry of Cooperation with the vision of ‘Cooperation for Prosperity’, Sandhu said the Centre has ushered in a new era for cooperatives under the leadership of Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah. “Punjab, which once showed the path of cooperation to the nation, should not be left behind,” he asserted.
The MP called for fast-tracking the digital transformation of Punjab’s cooperative sector, promotion of food processing and value addition to support crop diversification, and greater opportunities for young farmers and women in agri-based entrepreneurship. He said a regional centre of Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Punjab would play a crucial role in bringing professionalism, innovation and capacity building to the sector.
Meanwhile, hailing the National Cooperation Policy 2025, Sandhu said the policy places strong emphasis on digital transformation to make cooperatives professional, transparent and efficient. He noted that a budget of ₹2,925 crore has been allocated for the computerisation of 79,630 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) through an ERP-based National Uniform Platform.
Sandhu said the policy’s focus on real-time databases and data-driven decision-making would reduce political interference, improve transparency and accountability, and ultimately benefit farmers while giving a major boost to the rural economy.