Lok Sabha passes Bill to set up Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Gujarat’s Anand

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to set up ‘Tribhuvan Sahkari University’ in Gujarat’s Anand with an aim to create a qualified manpower for co-operative societies.

The university has been named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, who was one of the pioneers of cooperative movement in India and instrumental in laying foundation of Amul, Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said during a debate on the Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025.

Taking the opportunity while replying to the discussion on the Bill, Amit Shah said that poor people are getting the benefit of free medical treatment up to ₹5 lakh through the Ayushman Bharat scheme and after Delhi (where BJP government has already announced to roll it out), West Bengal will also implement the scheme next (after next election).

Contribution of Tribhuvandas

He also described some details about contribution of Tribhuvandas in founding the Amul brand with the encouragement from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He said Amul’s turnover has reached ₹60,000 crore now from less than ₹3,000 crore in 2003. He described in details the performance of his Ministry after a separate Cooperation Ministry was carved out by the government in 2019.

The proposed university will also address the long-pending issue of capacity building of employees and board members in the co-operative sector in a pan-India and focused manner.

According to the Bill, the present education and training infrastructure in the co-operative sector is fragmented and grossly inadequate to meet the present and future demand for qualified manpower and capacity building of existing employees in co-operative societies.

The Bill said it is essential that a comprehensive, integrated and standardised structure is created for education, training and research by establishing a national university to ensure a stable, adequate and quality supply of professionally qualified manpower for different categories of jobs in co-operatives such as managerial, supervisory, administrative, technical and operational.