Indian Cooperative Sector gets a new lease with the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University

PNN
New Delhi [India], May 7: In a move that marks a watershed moment for India's co-operative movement, the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University Act, 2025, has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and received Presidential assent. The Act officially transforms the renowned Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) into the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University - the country's first University dedicated exclusively to co-operative education, training and research.
Named in honour of Padma Bhushan Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, a freedom fighter and pioneering co-operative leader, the University carries forward a legacy deeply entwined with India's rural resurgence and the nation's freedom struggle.
Tribhuvandas Patel was inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the chief architect of national integration. While Sardar Patel envisioned empowered villages as the bedrock of a strong India, Tribhuvandas took that dream forward on the ground. In 1946, under his leadership, the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union was founded - a modest effort that would, with the arrival of a young technocrat named Dr. Verghese Kurien, grow into Amul, India's most iconic dairy brand and a global symbol of co-operative success.
Their partnership laid the foundation for the White Revolution, making India the world's largest milk producer and establishing a self-reliant, farmer-owned dairy ecosystem that transformed millions of rural lives.
The establishment of the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University builds directly on this extraordinary legacy. Located in Anand, Gujarat - the very cradle of India's co-operative renaissance - the University will function as an institution of national importance, tasked with elevating co-operative education to global standards. The University will continue to house IRMA as a Centre of Excellence for Rural Management, preserving its identity and autonomy while expanding its mandate under the new Act.
The transformation of IRMA into the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University represents a historical continuum - from the village-level co-operatives envisioned by Sardar Patel, built by Tribhuvandas Patel, and professionalised under the leadership of Dr. Kurien - to a national institution poised to lead the future of co-operative education and innovation.
Guided by the vision of Sahkar Se Samriddhi (Prosperity through Co-operation), the University will offer advanced degree programmes, distance learning, short-term certifications and e-learning certifications tailored for the co-operative sector. It will develop Centres of Excellence in key areas like dairy, fisheries, finance, housing and agri-business, and will also facilitate policy research, consultancy and grassroots innovation. It will act as the apex body for standardising co-operative education and training. The University will include a network of Councils and Boards, ensuring dynamic governance and academic rigour.
Importantly, the university will also encourage international collaborations and admit foreign students, providing a platform for global exchange in co-operative thought and practice.
Over its 45-year history, IRMA has played a critical role in nurturing leaders for rural development and the co-operative sectors. The new University now invites a wider community - youth, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners - to contribute to and benefit from this evolving mission.
This is not just the founding of a University; it is the institutionalisation of a movement. The "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University embodies the ideals of inclusive growth, people-led development, and nation-building through co-operation.
It stands as a tribute to the unifying philosophy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the visionary leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel, and the transformative impact of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the three architects of India's rural and co-operative empowerment.
Dr. Umakant Dash, Director, IRMA
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