Rajya Sabha passes Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2023

New Delhi [India], August 1 : The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.
The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023  was moved in the Rajya Sabha for its consideration and passage to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.
The Lok Sabha earlier passed the Bill.
The Bill will improve governance, reform the electoral process, strengthen the monitoring mechanism, improve the Board's composition, and enhance transparency and accountability in Multi-State Cooperative Societies.
The Bill allows state co-operative societies to merge into an existing multi-state co-operative society.
The Bill establishes the Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund for the revival of sick multi-state co-operative societies. As per the Bill, the central government will appoint one or more Co-operative Ombudsman with territorial jurisdiction.
The Union Cabinet in October 2022 approved the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to improve the ease of doing business, increase financial discipline and enable raising funds in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies.
The move was taken in order to make the governance of multi-State Cooperative societies more democratic, transparent and accountable.
The Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, of 2002 was enacted with a view to facilitating the democratic functioning and autonomous working of multi-State co-operative societies in line with the established co-operative principles. There is a felt need to amend the Act to bring it in line with the 97th Constitutional Amendment and strengthen the cooperative movement in the multi-State Cooperative societies sector.