The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) convened the first High-Level Committee (HLC) meeting for the financial year 2025–26 on Short-Term Cooperative Credit Institutions of Delhi, on 16 September 2025 at its Regional Office in New Delhi.
The meeting was chaired by Smt. Shilpa Shinde, IAS, Secretary (Cooperation), Government of NCT of Delhi, and brought together key stakeholders from the cooperative banking ecosystem. Notable attendees included: Shri Ashok Kumar, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Shri Krishna Kumar Singh, IAS, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Govt. of NCT of Delhi; Shri Rajiv Kumar Kadyan, Officiating Managing Director, Delhi State Cooperative Bank (StCB); Shri Nabin Kumar Roy, General Manager & Officer-in-Charge, NABARD New Delhi RO (Convener of the HLC); Smt. Savitri Singh, Deputy CEO, National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) – Special Invitee.
The HLC, constituted under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Cooperation Department, aims to review and strengthen the financial health and governance of Rural Cooperative Banks.
Key focus areas include:
- Financial & Business parameters of Rural Cooperative Banks
- Implementation of turnaround and development action plans
- Compliance with statutory and regulatory provisions
- Governance, fraud prevention, and grievance redressal mechanisms
- Technology adoption including CBS modules and cybersecurity
- Human resource management and cooperative training
- Financial inclusion and social security initiatives
- Support to lower-tier cooperatives like PACS
- State-specific cooperative issues, etc.
Delhi’s Short-Term Cooperative Credit Structure (STCCS) is unitary, with the Delhi State Cooperative Bank operating at the apex level through 50 branches across the NCT. While there are no Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) or District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in the state, other cooperative societies such as Credit & Thrift, Housing, Handloom, and Consumer Cooperatives are active.
The Committee held in-depth discussions on the performance of Delhi StCB Ltd., highlighting areas of concern with respect to the guidelines/instructions issued by Government of India, RBI, CERT-IN, and NABARD. Emphasis was placed on technological upgrades, business diversification, and strengthening governance.
Smt. Shilpa Shinde, IAS, underscored the vital role of cooperative banks in grassroots credit delivery and urged Delhi StCB to pursue modernization and strategic growth to remain competitive.
Shri Ashok Kumar from RBI emphasized the need for sustainable compliance to facilitate regulatory approvals, while Smt. Savitri Singh from NCUI highlighted their institution’s role in capacity building and strengthening of managerial efficiency of Cooperative Banks.
The Committee also reviewed national initiatives aimed at transparency, modernization, and competitiveness in the cooperative sector, aligned with the vision of “Sahakar se Samriddhi.” Plans for the upcoming Cooperative Week in November 2025, coinciding with the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025, were also discussed.
