India's first cooperative university to come up in Gujarat, says Amit Shah

The foundation stone for India’s first national cooperative university was laid on July 5, 2025 by Union Minister for Cooperation and Home Affairs, Amit Shah, in Anand -- the town known for giving India the Amul model of cooperative success.

Named Tribhuvan Sahkari University, the institution aims to create a formal structure for education in cooperative management, finance, law, and rural development.

The university has been named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, a pioneer of India’s cooperative movement and one of the founding forces behind Amul.

At the ceremony attended by farmers, state ministers and cooperators, Amit Shah underlined the university’s objective -- to produce skilled manpower for the sector and to instil a



foundational understanding of cooperatives among the youth.

"India cannot move forward in the cooperative sector without education. The time has come to create trained professionals who understand both technical knowledge and the spirit behind cooperatives,” said Amit Shah.

He called upon state governments to follow the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which has introduced a course on cooperatives for school students.

Shah urged that cooperatives be introduced as a subject in classes 9 to 12 across states, including Gujarat.

“This is about shaping minds early,” Shah said. “When children understand the value of cooperative work, they grow up recognising its role in economic and social development.”