Naresh Garg 
In Niigata Prefecture, a rice farmer named Takeshi deposits his entire harvest income into a local cooperative bank branch, takes out a seasonal crop loan from the same counter, and buys his fertiliser from the cooperative store next door. He has never walked into a commercial bank in his life. Neither did his father. This … Read more
On a Monday morning in the Ramanagara Cocoon Market, the largest raw silk cocoon trading hub in Asia, a farmer named Manjunath from Channapatna taluk watches as his weekly harvest of bivoltine cocoons fetches ₹485 per kilogram — nearly ₹70 more than what he earned this time last year. He credits his local sericulture cooperative … Read more
A carton of Amul cheese sitting on a supermarket shelf in the United States might not seem remarkable, but behind it lies a supply chain powered entirely by millions of small dairy farmers organized into cooperatives. India’s cooperative movement — one of the largest in the world — is increasingly becoming a force in international … Read more
Millions of small business owners in India still do not know that they can get up to ₹5 lakh without pledging any collateral — and that the government has been running this facility for years. The problem is not that schemes do not exist — it is that most people never understand how to use … Read more
In the summer of 1998, a twenty-three-year-old woman in Bhujodi village, Kutch district, Gujarat, walked into her local cooperative society office and asked for a loan of ₹200. The clerk hesitated — the amount was so small it barely covered the paperwork. She wanted to buy raw cotton yarn and natural dyes to weave shawls … Read more
In the winter of 2019, Kamla Devi of Joshimath block in Chamoli district earned ₹1,200 for an entire season’s collection of wild jatamansi roots — a Himalayan herb that high-end wellness brands in Mumbai were retailing for ₹3,500 per kilogram. By 2026, she earns closer to ₹48,000 a season. The difference? A cooperative that decided … Read more
While Blinkit and Zepto were burning through hundreds of crores in venture capital to deliver groceries in 10 minutes, a business model born in a British mill town in 1844 was quietly outpacing both of them in the Indian heartland. Nobody in a Mumbai boardroom saw it coming — but the numbers in 2026 are … Read more
In a small office in Sangli district, Maharashtra, the secretary of a dairy cooperative stared at a single letter on a government form — “C” — and wondered if it meant the end of his society’s ₹14 lakh NCDC loan application. Across the country, thousands of cooperative administrators receive audit grades every year without fully … Read more
Cooperatives across Asia are generating over $700 billion in combined annual revenue, and the trade fair circuit has become the most dynamic meeting ground for these member-owned enterprises. I have been tracking cooperative events across the continent for years, and 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most packed calendars I have ever … Read more
The private sector has been making headlines for layoffs, hiring freezes, and slow job creation — but quietly, certain government schemes in India are doing the opposite. The problem is not that these opportunities don’t exist — it’s that most people never understand how to actually use them. In 2026, schemes like PMEGP, PM Vishwakarma … Read more
