At the forefront of looking after the financial health of cooperatives is the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) whose Managing Director Mr Sundeep Kumar Nayak is on our cover. Established by an Act of Parliament in 1962, the NCDC is empowered to assist different types of cooperatives and expand its financial base. Operating through its head office and 18 regional and state directorates, the NCDC is endowed with in-house technical and managerial capabilities in areas of cooperation, organization, financial management, MIS, sugar, oilseeds, textiles, fruits and vegetables, dairy, poultry, livestock, fishery, handlooms, civil engineering, refrigeration and preservation to help cooperatives identify and formulate projects, and, of course, successfully implement them.

Loans and grants are advanced to state Governments for financing primary and secondary level cooperative societies and directly to the national level and other societies having objectives 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. Mr Nayak assures that an entrepreneur with a bankable idea is guaranteed a loan in this sector. Coming close on the heels of India’s first ever National Cooperative Conference, the NCDC’s role becomes even more significant going forward. “The entire sector including the primary cooperatives, district and state-level federations, national-level federation, is excited by the new Ministry, and also with the new Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Amit Shah ji. The Hon’ble Minister has a very long experience with cooperatives in Gujarat, so he understands the cooperative sector extremely well. We at the NCDC firmly believe that the cooperative sector will now get its due share.”

We’d last put Mr Shah on our cover back in November 2015 that was distributed at the Los Angeles Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. He’s back, this time once again underlining his importance and presence in core issues of national governance.

Elsewhere, the Sewa International, an India diaspora-driven nonprofit, became a household name, especially during the second wave of the pandemic, after flying in medical supplies from different parts of the world. Mr Shyam Parande, Global Coordinator, Sewa International, speaks to us about the different initiatives taken up by the organization to serve the people of India.

As you go through the pages of the magazine, engage us with your comments and queries. If you choose, you can look up our earlier monthly editions on www.indiaempire.com

(sayantanc@gmail.com)