Imphal: During the 15th session of the “Meet the Press” programme at the Directorate of Information and Public Relations auditorium, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, W Ibohal, urged greater participation of young people and women in Manipur’s cooperative movement. He said the sector must evolve beyond a traditional rural credit system to become a platform for employment, entrepreneurship, access to finance and collective business activities.
Ibohal traced the movement’s origins to 1939, following the Indian Co‑operative Societies Act of 1912, and noted that Manipur now hosts 11,659 registered societies with 820,835 members. Of these, 5,337 are functioning while 6,322 remain non‑functioning. The department is focused on reviving and strengthening institutions so they can better serve members and local communities.
Financial support has been extended to 36 primary multipurpose rural societies and 36 valley and hill societies, with Rs 20 lakh in total assistance. Additional Rs 2 lakh was given to the state’s apex handloom cooperative. Under the Central Sector Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Cooperation, the National Cooperative Development Corporation has sanctioned Rs 36.3565 crore for pisciculture projects across Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching and Bishnupur, benefiting 167 societies.
Ibohal also highlighted the department’s move toward digitalisation. Computerisation of the Registrar’s offices, funded largely by the central government, will enable services such as registration, audit, inspection, e‑payment and liquidation to be handled online. The new system will link with the National Cooperative Database and is part of a broader effort to modernise primary agricultural credit societies.
Despite a broad network of more than 11,000 societies, the department faces a manpower shortage, with 302 of 506 sanctioned posts vacant. The Registrar stressed that active member participation, proper management, and innovative ideas are essential for the sector’s sustainability and relevance.
