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Rajasthan has become the country’s first State to lay down the minimum educational qualifications for contesting elections to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative bodies.

Changes and Importance of Amendment

• The State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003, were amended for the purpose and notified.
• The minimum educational qualification would be compulsory for the members of the Directorate of Board to ensure the management is assigned to skilled hands.
• The new rules would benefit about 10,000 cooperative and agricultural credit societies.
• An elected representative at any level could not directly become a president or vice-president of cooperative society, as it was earlier.
• Competent and talented personnel could be selected in a transparent way.
• The educational qualifications will range from Class V to Class VIII for election as members of governing boards of dairy societies, farming societies, consumer societies, weavers’ societies, housing construction societies, urban banks, primary land development banks, credit societies, salary earners’ societies and cooperative unions.
• A new poll calendar will be issued to facilitate the holding of elections under the new rules.

Source : The Hindu

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