The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare has recently unveiled a Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP) known as Sahakar Mitra. This initiative, spearheaded by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), aims to offer opportunities to young professionals and contribute to cooperatives. The scheme follows the government’s previous initiative, ‘The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP) Portal’, which was designed to provide internship opportunities to fresh graduates and engineers under the ‘Smart City’ projects.
Objective of Sahakar Mitra Internship Scheme
The primary goal of the Sahakar Mitra scheme is to facilitate cooperative institutions in accessing novel and inventive ideas from young professionals. Simultaneously, the interns can gain valuable field experience to cultivate self-reliance.
Sahakar Mitra will offer the young professionals a platform for practical exposure and learning from NCDC and cooperatives as paid interns. Additionally, it offers professionals from academic institutions the chance to develop leadership and entrepreneurial roles through cooperatives, particularly Farmers Producers Organizations (FPO).
In alignment with the AtmaNirbhar Bharat’s (Self Reliant India) emphasis on the importance of ‘Vocal for Local’, the scheme also seeks to reinforce this concept.
Eligibility for Sahakar Mitra Internship Scheme
Professionals who are pursuing or have completed their professional graduate degrees in domains like Agriculture and allied areas, and IT are eligible to apply. Moreover, those who have pursued or completed their MBA in Agribusiness, Cooperation, Finance, International Trade, Forestry, Rural Development, Project Management, etc., can also apply.
Financial Support for Interns
Under the Sahakar Mitra scheme, NCDC has allotted funds for the paid internship. Each intern will receive financial support over a four-month internship term.
About The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
Established by an Act of Parliament in 1963, the NCDC serves as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. The corporation operates through its Head Office at New Delhi and several Regional Offices.
The key objectives of NCDC include planning and promoting programs for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock and certain other notified commodities and services based on cooperative principles. The NCDC is the only statutory organization operating as an apex financial and developmental institution dedicated to the cooperative sector.
Cooperatives: A Brief Overview
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), cooperatives are autonomous associations of persons who voluntarily unite to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) serve as an example of cooperatives. An FPO, formed by a group of farm producers, is a registered body with producers as shareholders. They deal with business activities related to the farm produce and work for the benefit of the member producers.
Provisions of Indian Constitution related to Cooperatives
The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB following Part IXA (Municipals) dealing with the cooperatives operating in India. The term “cooperatives” was included after “unions and associations” in Art. 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution. This allows all citizens to form cooperatives, giving it the status of the fundamental right of the citizens. A new Article 43B was added to the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.
The Way Forward
NCDC should strive to develop methodologies to assess the performance of cooperatives and encourage their betterment. The Sahakar Mitra scheme will bolster government-academia-industry-civil society linkages. For further enhancement, India should consider learning from technical and vocational training/education models in countries such as China, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Singapore, and adopt a comprehensive model that can bridge the skill gaps and ensure the employability of youths.