The Forum of Free Enterprise is a non-political organization founded in 1956 by A. D. Shroff, and has been established to educate public opinion in India on free enterprise and a democratic way of life. The Forum publishes booklets to further its objects. The following booklet is titled “cooperatives in the changing economy of India” was published in August 1998. The article was prepared by Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF). The article defines: what is cooperative? And further it talks elucidates cooperative setup and cooperatives and the economy. The article discusses non-cooperative savings, the credit services, and money lenders, the banker, and the importance of savings and credit cooperatives. The article discusses marketing services and private marketing companies with respect to the dairy sector. The article stresses the importance of cooperative marketing and supply services and states that in an economy where employment and purchasing power both need urgent attention is probably the cooperative with its decentralized, democratic, and, in this case, producer-sensitive and producer-controlled design, which permits, may, makes possible and viable, the picking up of small quantities of milk from a large number of producers, spread over a large area. The article discusses the situation of cooperatives in India, the restrictive laws, and government control over cooperatives. The article states if in spite of the existing laws there have been instances of successful and genuine· cooperative action, the problem is perhaps not so much with the law, but with the quality of people we have. The article stresses the bridging gap between the theory and practice of cooperation and cites the government of Andhra Pradesh’s initiative of liberalizing the cooperative laws as a beacon of change. Further, the article discusses government cooperatives and states cooperatives work as a public service. The article suggests changes in current cooperatives laws by adding a chapter to the existing law or introducing a parallel law for self-reliant cooperatives. The article mentions the Andhra Pradesh Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies (APMACS) Act and its salient features. The article concludes with the view that it is important to reform the cooperative laws and once again it is equally necessary to define cooperatives through reform in legislation.
