Objectives and Roles

Introduction

In 1956, the administrative control over the industrial co-operatives was transferred from the Department of Co-operation to the Department of Industries and Commerce. A separate wing with technical and administrative staff is functioning in the Industries Department to give exclusive attention for the development of industrial co-operatives. Even though, in the beginning, industrial co-operatives were mostly formed for the benefit of rural artisans, workers and labourer, eventually, service industrial co-operatives for the benefit of small entrepreneurs, producers and small farmers have also been started

Etymologically cottage, tiny and small industries suffer from the disadvantage of economics of scale owing to small size, little finance, employment of small machines, high cost due to their inability in making bulk purchases etc. As individual entitles, these tiny and cottage units cannot effectively market their produce also. In order to overcome the above hindrances, a co-operative form of organization namely INDUSTRIAL co-operativeS were formed. Organizations of individuals into societies and combination of societies into District and State Level lead to greater efficiency, innovation and larger turnover.

Objectives

Industrial co-operatives have been organised with two objectives namely social and economic upliftment of the people living below the poverty line.

• The most important Social objective is to safeguard the interest of the poorest sections against exploitative trends and to pave way for diffusions and dispersal of wealth.
• The economic objective of these societies is to create employment opportunities for the people by increasing the production and productivity of the units and also to inculcate competitive capability and acceleration in the field of Trade and Industries

Roles

Industrial co-operatives, a wing of the Department of Industries and Commerce, plays a vital role

• In providing gainful employment to the rural people in general and women in particular through production type Industrial Co-operative Societies.
• In eliminating the exploitation of workers by middlemen through Labour Contract co-operative Societies.
• In arranging for market for the products of rural artisans through Handicrafts co-operative Societies.
• In providing infrastructural facilities including developed industrial sites or sheds to the small scale and tiny sector entrepreneurs through Co-operative Industrial Estates.
• In procuring green tea leaves through co-operative Tea Factories and paying reasonable rate to the small tea growers of Nilgiris District.
• In helping the tapioca cultivators of Eight Districts in procuring the tapioca through member units of SAGOSERVE for processing of Starch and Sago and arrange for marketing the same.
• In sustaining the demand for made Tea in Nilgiris District and in order to ensure reasonable rate to the Small tea growers, tea is procured, blended and sold in the brand name of ‘Ooty Tea’ through P.D.S throughout Tamil Nadu by the INDCOSERVE.
• To stabilise the tea market and to eliminate the short comings in the conventional tea Auction system, a New Electronic Tea Auction Centre called ‘TEA SERVE’, the first of this kind in the world has been launched and it translates sale of tea of around 15 lakh Kgs. per month with perfect transparency to the satisfaction of tea producers / sellers.

In nutshell Industrial Co-operative Societies ensure marketing of the finished products of the members, advantages of large scale economics to the members and mutual help among the members with cardinal principal of each for all and all for each.

Districtwise Societies Highlighting Major Sectors