NEW DELHI, MARCH 19, 2026:Â Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has outlined a series of major reforms aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and governance in multi-state cooperative societies, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The reforms are anchored in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act & Rules, 2023, notified in August 2023, which introduce structural measures to curb financial irregularities and strengthen institutional functioning across the cooperative sector.
The Minister highlighted key initiatives, including the establishment of a Cooperative Election Authority to ensure free and timely elections, and a Cooperative Ombudsman to address member grievances. Additional provisions, such as the appointment of Information Officers and the mandatory placement of audit reports of apex societies in Parliament, are aimed at enhancing transparency. Governance reforms include stricter eligibility norms for directors, conflict-of-interest restrictions, mandatory Audit and Ethics Committees, and defined qualifications for Chief Executive Officers. The Central Government has also been empowered to prescribe accounting standards and prudential norms to ensure uniform financial discipline across cooperative institutions.
To strengthen financial oversight, concurrent audits have been made mandatory for societies with deposits or turnover exceeding ₹500 crore, along with the constitution of specialised auditor panels. As per statutory provisions, societies must appoint auditors from an approved panel during Annual General Meetings, with audit reports to be submitted within six months of the financial year-end. The Central Registrar has also been empowered to initiate inquiries into fraud or irregularities and take necessary action, including winding up of societies in cases of misrepresentation. These reforms, aligned with the spirit of the 97th Constitutional Amendment, are aimed at making the cooperative sector more transparent, accountable, and democratically governed, while safeguarding the interests of members.
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