Diverse Pathways: Exploring Co-operative Training Beyond NCUI

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India’s co-operative sector is one of the largest in the world, encompassing over 8 lakh co-operative societies across agriculture, banking, dairy, housing, and more. Training the people who run these institutions is not a luxury – it is an operational necessity. While the National Co-operative Union of India (NCUI) has long anchored the training ecosystem at the apex level, several other institutions have carved out equally important roles. From NABARD-promoted institutes to FAO-backed international centres, these organizations together form a robust, multi-layered training infrastructure that serves cooperative professionals across every region and specialization.

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Why multiple training institutions matter

No single institution can address the full spectrum of training needs in a sector as diverse as India’s co-operatives. A manager at a Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) in rural Telangana has different skill requirements than a board member of an urban co-operative bank in Maharashtra, or a trainer at a state-level cooperative union in Punjab. Specialized institutions have emerged precisely to bridge these gaps – offering tailored curricula, regional accessibility, and sector-specific depth that a single apex body would struggle to deliver alone.

BIRD: building capacity for rural and co-operative banking

The Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow, is among the most prominent institutions in this ecosystem. Established in 1983 under NABARD, BIRD was set up as an autonomous body to provide training, research, and consultancy in agriculture and rural development banking. Over the decades, its scope has grown significantly. Today it serves officials of commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs), co-operative banks, and government agencies – with a particular focus on the rural financial sector.

C-PEC: BIRD’s centre for cooperative excellence

Within BIRD, a dedicated unit called the Centre for Professional Excellence in Cooperatives (C-PEC) operates with a specific mandate: streamlining training and certification systems across the Cooperative Credit Structure (CCS). C-PEC began operations in 2009 with support from GIZ under the Rural Financial Institutions Programme and has since been funded by NABARD through its Co-operative Development Fund. Its core work involves three pillars – accrediting cooperative training institutions, designing standardized training modules, and certifying the professional competencies of cooperative bank staff, trainers, and board members.

C-PEC also runs two certification programmes of note: the Certified Professional in Cooperative Banking (CPCB), offered at two levels, and the Certified Trainer for Financial Cooperatives (CTFC). These programmes are nationally recognized and help create a measurable standard of professional competence in the sector. BIRD also organizes the All India Conference of Principals and Directors of Cooperative Training Institutes – a forum that facilitates coordination among training bodies across states.

Beyond Lucknow, NABARD has established BIRD campuses in Mangaluru (est. 1984) and Kolkata (est. 1984), each serving regional needs. The Kolkata campus, for instance, focuses on training officials in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions – an area where cooperative infrastructure has historically been under-resourced.

CICTAB: international cooperation meets agricultural banking

The Centre for International Cooperation and Training in Agricultural Banking (CICTAB), located in Pune, represents a unique dimension in co-operative training – its international reach. Promoted jointly by the Government of India and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, CICTAB focuses on capacity building for agricultural co-operatives and rural financing institutions, primarily across SAARC nations including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

CICTAB’s programmes are not just classroom-based – they are deeply collaborative. It regularly co-organizes international training programmes with institutions like NCUI, VAMNICOM, NAFSCOB, and NABARD. For instance, it has run international programmes on topics such as training techniques for trainers, SHG and JLG financing, cooperative governance for board members, and agri-export documentation for cooperatives. The NCUI-CICTAB joint “Training the Trainers” programmes have drawn participants from across South Asia, making them a meaningful regional platform for cooperative education.

CICTAB’s General Council meetings bring together senior officials from the Ministry of Cooperation, NABARD, IFFCO, IRMA, NCUI, NAFSCOB, and international members – reflecting both the institution’s policy-level connections and its role in aligning regional cooperative training standards.

NCCT, VAMNICOM, and the regional training network

The National Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT) is a registered autonomous society promoted by the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. Its mandate covers organizing, directing, monitoring, and evaluating cooperative training across the country – making it the nodal body for a nationwide network of training institutions.

At the apex of this network is the Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM), Pune. Named after a pioneer of the cooperative movement, VAMNICOM was established in 1967 following the recommendations of a high-level committee chaired by Prof. D.R. Gadgil, which assessed the training needs of the sector. VAMNICOM offers graduate and postgraduate programmes in cooperative business management, and operates through seven centres including the Centre for Cooperative Management (CCM), Centre for Management Education (CME), Centre for Information Technology (CIT), Centre for Research and Publication, and others.

Regional Institutes of Cooperative Management (RICMs)

Below VAMNICOM, NCCT has established five Regional Institutes of Cooperative Management (RICMs) at Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Kalyani, Gandhinagar, and Patna. These cater to mid-level and senior personnel in the cooperative sector at the regional level. Further down the network are 14 Institutes of Cooperative Management (ICMs) spread across states including Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Kannur, Lucknow, Madurai, Nagpur, and Pune. Together, these institutions ensure that cooperative training is not concentrated in metro cities but reaches practitioners in tier-2 and tier-3 regions as well.

Each ICM shares its annual budget equally between the Ministry of Cooperation at the Centre and the respective state cooperative union – an arrangement that ensures both national alignment and local relevance. For instance, the Institute of Cooperative Management, Madurai, run in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Union, organizes management development programmes specifically for cooperative department officials and sector workers in Tamil Nadu.

CAB: the Reserve Bank’s training institution for agricultural banking

The College of Agricultural Banking (CAB), Pune, adds yet another specialized dimension to this ecosystem. Originally established in 1969 as the Cooperative Bankers’ Training College (CBTC), it was later renamed CAB and placed under the Reserve Bank of India. It celebrated its golden jubilee in 2019 – a milestone that underlines its five-decade legacy in training banking professionals with a rural and agricultural focus. CAB serves bankers from commercial banks, RRBs, and cooperative banks, with courses designed to sharpen credit appraisal, rural lending, and agricultural finance skills.

CAB’s affiliation with RBI gives it a regulatory perspective that few other training institutions can match. Its programmes often bridge the gap between banking regulation and grassroots cooperative credit delivery – a skill set that is increasingly in demand as cooperative banks come under more structured oversight.

How these institutions complement each other

What makes this training ecosystem effective is not just the number of institutions involved, but the way their roles are differentiated. BIRD and CAB approach training from a banking and credit lens. CICTAB brings an international and agricultural financing dimension. VAMNICOM and the NCCT network handle cooperative management education at scale – from senior leadership to entry-level staff. The Regional Training Centres (RTCs) and state-level ICMs ensure geographic reach.

These organizations also collaborate actively. CICTAB conducts joint programmes with NCUI, VAMNICOM, NAFSCOB, and CAB-RBI. BIRD’s C-PEC accredits state-level cooperative training institutes, creating a quality baseline across the country. NCCT’s ICMs operate with combined central and state funding. This inter-institutional architecture means that a cooperative professional in any part of India – whether they work in dairy, credit, marketing, or housing – can access relevant, structured training without having to travel to a single apex centre.

The bigger picture: training as movement-building

The co-operative sector’s success ultimately depends on the quality of its human resources – the managers, trainers, board members, and field staff who translate cooperative values into daily practice. India’s New Co-operative Policy and various reform packages, including the revival of the Short-Term Cooperative Credit Structure (STCCS), have all emphasized that institutional reform without professional capacity is incomplete. The multi-institution training framework described here is a direct response to that recognition.

As cooperative banks digitize, as PACS are expanded to serve multiple economic functions, and as new types of cooperatives emerge under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2022, the demand for trained cooperative professionals will only grow. Institutions like BIRD, CICTAB, VAMNICOM, CAB, and the NCCT network are already positioned to meet much of that demand – provided they continue to evolve their curricula and extend their reach.

What do you think? With cooperative banking undergoing rapid digital transformation, do existing training institutions need to fundamentally restructure their curricula – or is incremental updating enough? And given India’s geographic diversity, is five Regional Institutes of Cooperative Management sufficient to serve the training needs of a sector that spans over 8 lakh societies?

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References
  1. https://birdlucknow.nabard.org/
  2. https://www.nabard.org/training-establishment.aspx
  3. https://birdlucknow.nabard.org/center-of-excellence/c-pec/
  4. https://cictab.org/
  5. https://www.indiancooperative.com/ncui/ncui-joins-hands-with-cictab-to-kick-off-training-the-trainers-prog/
  6. https://icmdehradun.org/about-ncct/
  7. https://www.cooperation.gov.in/vamnicom
  8. https://www.icmpune.org/organization-structure-of-ncct/
  9. https://icmmadurai.in/
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Co-operation – Genesis, Principles, Values, Growth and Development

1 Genesis of Co-operative Movement in India and Few Selected Countries

  1. Characteristics of Co-operative Enterprise
  2. Objectives of Co-operation
  3. Origin and Development of Co-operative Movement in India
  4. History of the Co-operative Movement in India up to 1947
  5. England (Consumer Co-operative Movement)
  6. Germany (Raiffeisen and Schulze)
  7. Dairy Co-operatives in Denmark
  8. Co-operatives in Israel (Collective Farming)
  9. New Age Co-operatives

2 Development of Co-operative Principles and Values including ICA Restated Principles, 1995

  1. International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)
  2. Rochdale Principles
  3. ICA Statement on Co-operative Identity – 1995
  4. Principles of 1995 Co-operative Statement
  5. Co-operative Values

3 Co-operative Autonomy, Distinctive Features of Democratice Management in Co-operatives vis-a-vis Companies

  1. Nature of Co-operatives
  2. Principles of Co-operatives
  3. Democratic Member Control as a Restated Principle (1995)
  4. Features of a Co-operative
  5. Comparison between a Co-operative and Company

4 Co-operative Policy and Support at Centre and States (After 1990)

  1. Model Co-operative Law
  2. Andhra Pradesh Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies Act 1995
  3. Enactment of Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act 2002
  4. National Co-operative Policy 2002
  5. Vaidyanathan Committee Recommendations

5 Phase-I 1st to 3rd Five Year Plan

  1. First Five Year Plan (1951-1956)
  2. Second Five Year Plan (1956-1961)
  3. Third Five Year Plan (1961-1966)

6 Phase-II 4th to 8th Five Year Plan

  1. Introduction
  2. Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-1974)
  3. Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979)
  4. Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985)
  5. Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990)
  6. Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997)

7 Phase-III 9th to 11th Five Year Plan

  1. Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)
  2. Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)
  3. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012)

8 Present Status of Co-Operative Movement

  1. Spread of Co-operatives
  2. Share of Co-operatives in National Economy
  3. Significance of Co-operative Movement
  4. Important Sectors of Co-operative Movement
  5. Problems of Co-operative Movement
  6. Issues/Challenges before Co-operative Movement

9 Types of Co-Operatives

  1. Co-operative Marketing
  2. Co-operative Processing
  3. Co-operative Farming
  4. Consumer Co-operative
  5. Industrial Co-operatives
  6. Housing Co-operatives
  7. Dairy Co-operative
  8. Fishery Co-operatives
  9. Transport Co-operatives
  10. Education Societies
  11. Labour Co-operatives
  12. Hospital Co-operatives
  13. Agri-tourism Co-operatives

10 Study of Co-Operative Credit Institutions

  1. Origin
  2. Co-operative Rural Credit Institutions in India
  3. Credit Co-operative Movement after Independence
  4. Long Term Credit
  5. Co-operative Rural Credit Institutions – Issues
  6. Non-Agricultural Co-operative Credit Institutions

11 Study of Marketing, Consumer, Processing Co-Operatives

  1. Marketing Co-operative
  2. Consumer Co-operative
  3. Sugar Co-operative
  4. Dairy Co-operative

12 Study of Co-Operatives for Weaker Section– Labour, Tribal, Fishery, Weavers, Women

  1. Importance of Weaker Section Co-operatives
  2. Different Weaker Section Co-operatives
  3. Fishery Co-operatives
  4. Tribal Co-operatives
  5. Labour Co-operatives
  6. Weavers’ Co-operatives
  7. Women Co-operatives

13 Study of Other Types of Co-Operatives- Housing, Fertilizer

  1. Housing Co-operatives
  2. Fertilizer Co-operatives
  3. Health Co-operatives
  4. Tourism Co-operatives
  5. Tree Growers’ Co-operative Societies

14 Findings and Recommendations of Important Committees (1954- 1989)

  1. All India Rural Credit Survey Committee Report – 1954
  2. Committee on Co-operation – 1965
  3. All India Rural Credit Review Committee (AIRCRC) – 1969
  4. Madhava Das Committee – 1978
  5. Report of the Committee on Co-operative Law for Democratisation and Professionalisation of Management in Co-operatives – 1987
  6. Report of the Agricultural Credit Review Committee – 1989

15 Findings and Recommendations of Important Committees (1991- 2010)

  1. Report of the Committee on Model Co-operative Act – 1991
  2. Report of the Committee on Licensing of New Urban Co-operative Banks
  3. Report of the Task Force on Revival of Rural Co-operative Credit Institutions (2005)
  4. Report of the High Powered Committee on Co-operatives (2009)

16 Role of Regulatory and Development Institutions for Co-operative Movement

  1. Role Functions of Reserve Bank of India
  2. Role Functions of NABARD
  3. Role Functions of NCDC
  4. Role Functions of NDDB
  5. Promotional Role of Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Co-operative Development

17 Co-Operative Training and Education

  1. Evolution of Co-operative Training and Education
  2. Structure of Co-operative Training and Education under NCUI
  3. Co-operative Training and Education Facilities in Junior Training Centres in States
  4. Co-operative Training and Education provided by other Co-operative Organizations