Garhwal Post Bureau
New Delhi, 4 Aug: Haridwar MP and former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today raised in Parliament the issue of strengthening fishery cooperative societies across the country, the formation of new societies and the assistance being provided under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
In a detailed written reply, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that, under the “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” campaign being implemented under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the fisheries cooperative sector has witnessed historic expansion.
In his reply, Shah stated that, as of 15 July 2026, a total of 2,356 new fishery cooperative societies have been established across the country, while 1,700 existing societies have been strengthened. He said that the National Cooperative Database is being used to monitor these societies and ensure the effective implementation of various schemes. The convergence of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samriddhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY), he added, is providing the fisheries sector with modern technology, financial assistance and improved infrastructure.
Commenting on the response given by Shah, Rawat noted that the information provided in Parliament is highly encouraging for Uttarakhand as well. He noted that 124 new fishery cooperative societies have been formed in the state, describing it as a significant achievement compared with most other hill states. He said that despite its limited geographical resources, Uttarakhand has made impressive progress in cooperative-based fisheries development.
He pointed out that Uttarakhand has outperformed several hill states in the formation of new fishery cooperative societies, including Assam with 89, Manipur 71, Jammu and Kashmir 40, Arunachal Pradesh 29, Meghalaya 19, Nagaland 19, Himachal Pradesh 12 and Sikkim four. According to him, these figures demonstrate that Uttarakhand is emerging as a leading state in cooperative-driven fisheries development among the hill states.
Rawat further noted that the Central Government is extending financial and technical assistance to fishery cooperative societies for the development of deep-sea fishing trawlers, cold-chain infrastructure, hatcheries, processing units and other modern fisheries infrastructure. He added that measures such as capacity building, business development planning, marketing support and institutional strengthening are helping enhance the income of the fishing community while strengthening the rural economy.
Rawat said that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cooperative movement has emerged as an effective instrument of economic transformation in rural India. According to him, the “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” model is not confined merely to the formation of new cooperative societies but is also empowering rural youth, fish farmers and cooperative institutions to become self-reliant, thereby giving fresh momentum to the vision of a developed India.
