India’s parliament has passed a bill that will enable the establishment of a national co-operative university in Gujarat, on the site formerly operating as the Institute of Rural Management Anand (Irma).
Members of India’s Rajya Sabha (upper house) approved the Tribhuvan Sahkari Cooperative University Bill last month after it was passed in the Lok Sabha (lower house) a day earlier.
Home affairs and co-operation minister Amit Shah hailed a “historic day” for India’s co-op sector.
“I congratulate all the MPs for this important work that brings together the confluence of cooperation, innovation and employment,” said Shah in a post on X.
“Now co-operative education will become an integral part of Indian education and curriculum and through this university, trained youth from all over the country will make the co-operative sector more comprehensive, well-organised and modern-age friendly.
“On behalf of all the brothers and sisters associated with the co-operative sector, many thanks to prime minister Shri @narendramodi.”
Related: A look at some of the world’s co-op universities
An expansion of Irma, a training provider for rural society managers, the Tribhuvan Sahkari university aims to provide education, training, and capacity building in the co-op sector and undertake research and development activities in related areas.
Irma will stay in operation as a school within the university.
The university is named after Indian co-op pioneer Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, who helped establish Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul), the world’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-op.
It will be led by a vice-chancellor, appointed by the central government for a term of three years.
The Ministry of Co-operation says the university will have the capacity to train 800,000 people a year, with this supply of trained workers “expected to help the co-operative sector in making larger contributions to various sectors of the economy”.
