Five years after the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, India’s cooperative movement has acquired a renewed institutional momentum. From modernising the policy framework and strengthening cooperative banking to creating a national cooperative database and establishing Tribhuvan Sahkari University (TSU), the foundations of reform are firmly in place.As the Ministry enters its next phase, the focus must naturally shift from building institutions to building the people who will lead them. The future of India’s 8.5 lakh cooperatives will depend less on new schemes than on professional leadership, skilled human resources and continuous innovation. That is where TSU can make a transformational difference.Integrating cooperative learning ecosystemAbout 280 Cooperative Education and Training Institutions impart cooperative education and training (CET).Some higher educational institutions in Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, offer Under Graduate and Post Graduate courses in cooperation.National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), National Council for Cooperative Training, National Dairy Development Board; National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC); Reserve Bank of India’s College of Agricultural Banking; Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development; and State Cooperative Unions (SCUs) support trainings and education programmes for officials of registrar cooperatives, and members, board of directors, and employees of cooperatives.TSU, considering diverse and fragmented cooperative education domain, can position itself as the hub of CET and integrate these institutions through affiliation/accreditation.While standardised protocols are needed to create a capable cadre of cooperative managers, TSU needs to develop a “National Cooperative Human Resource Policy Framework” to map personnel demand across cooperative sectors and roll-out an all-inclusive performance framework for CET activities to align with 4 Ps — People, Platform, Policy, and Prosperity.Pathways to human capabilityTSU, through quality education and training, would elevate knowledge and skill competencies of cooperative members, employees and leaderships. Its ambitious target of generating 20 lakh cooperative professionals in next five years will be realised through a hub-and-spoke mode, where over 33,000 individuals are to be educated and trained each month.This mammoth, but achievable, task requires immediate and extensive stakeholder consultations to assess sectoral education and training needs. Accordingly, curriculum needs to be reviewed considering industry requirements and courses be designed or updated for award of short and medium duration certificates, diploma, degree, PG and PhD programmes.In addition to introducing sector-specific skill development, efforts are needed to ensure practical orientation aligned with cooperative values and modern technology trends.Besides introducing an “Agile Curriculum Review System” for refreshing and refining existing education/training modules, TSU may conduct Periodic National Training Needs Assessment (TNA) exercises for each cooperative sub-sector, in partnership with sectoral federations and institutions like NCUI, SCUs, NCDC, NABARD and Central/State Cooperative Registrar’s offices.Additionally, feedback-linked learning management systems with built-in analytics can track knowledge retention, application, and impact and can be responsive to the fast-changing skill demands of today’s technical workforce.To instil grassroots understanding and build depth in more than 30 sectoral cooperatives ranging from dairy to agriculture, livestock, fishery, housing, processing, logistics, fertilizers, credit, labour, consumer, etc., cooperative education must move decisively beyond the confines of the classroom.While two weeks’ cooperative field immersion could be integrated after every semester, introduction of a six-month “Cooperative Work Experience” programme in the final semester as a core credit component of degree programmes would enhance students’ employability. Students should be exposed to practical, problem-solving projects related to cooperative enterprise development challenges, ensuring hands-on exposure to the realities of diverse sectors.Embracing the possibilities of technology, the TSU must establish “Cooperative Simulation Labs” and “Virtual Field Labs”, equipped with 360-degree walkthroughs of selected sector-specific cooperatives to enhance cooperative learning in both urban and remote settings.Designing modern curriculaTSU must emerge as a frontrunner in designing contemporary, sector-aligned, and future-ready curricula focused on new and emerging domains like, Agri-Fintech, blockchain applications, drone-based agri-services, environmental, social, and governance standards in cooperatives, e-platforms, CoopStack usage, etc.To ensure wider attraction, adoption and recognition, all such courses must be aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework.Moreover, TSU should lead the development of Sector Skill Qualification Packs (SSQPs) specifically tailored for sector-wise cooperative job roles viz. Secretary/ Manager, Procurement Officers, Cooperative Accountant, Cooperative ICT Facilitator, Governance and Compliance Officer and domain specific technical positions. These SSQPs must be backed by rigorous occupational mapping and industry validation through apex sectoral federations.By embedding demand-driven, skills-focused content, TSU will bridge the capacity gap across cooperatives, make cooperative education aspirational and career-relevant for India’s youth.Knowledge at the core of changeEvidence-based policymaking demands robust cooperative data systems and research capacity, supported by a uniform platform combining National Cooperative Database, registration records, and training analytics — allowing timely insights and corrective action by TSU.Achieving ‘Sahkar-Se-Samriddhi’ starts with schools, where cooperative values take root early. With cooperative education and field exposure now planned for classes 9-12, youth involvement will grow steadily. To train at least one lakh cooperative ambassadors in colleges/universities over the next three years, a dedicated Gen Z Cooperative Leaders Programme could be launched to anchor a visible and vibrant youth-led movement.TSU is more than an institution; it is a national movement to make community business units competitive and redefine cooperative revolution. By aligning cooperative values with modern management practices, it can become a hub for talent development, research, innovation, and sectoral strengthening — operating with agility, and inclusivity, while blending grassroots’ wisdom with global professionalism to foster quality cooperative education, training, research and innovation.As envisioned in the recently released National Cooperation Policy, 2025, TSU would professionalise cooperatives, drive transformational growth in the sector and contribute $1 trillion to India’s GDP by 2045.Dev is the Chairman; and Tripathy is the Joint Secretary in the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Views expressed are personalPublished on July 5, 2026