Growth of Industrial Cooperatives in Maharashtra State: An Analysis Based on the National Cooperative Database

Abstract Cooperatives have played an important role in the socio-economic and industrial development of Maharashtra. Apart from agricultural credit, sugar and dairy cooperatives, the state has developed a substantial network of agro-processing and industrial cooperative societies. The present study examines the growth and current position of industrial cooperatives in Maharashtra using secondary data obtained primarily from the National Cooperative Database (NCD) of the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. The study analyses the historical pattern of registration of agro-processing/industrial cooperatives from the pre-independence period to 2023 and examines their functional status, membership and position at the national level. The NCD data show that Maharashtra had 5,292 agro-processing/industrial cooperative societies in the 2023 database, of which 4,959 were functional, 229 non-functional and 104 under liquidation. These societies had approximately 12.54 lakh members. The historical registration of the data reveals particularly rapid expansion of the agro processing / industrial cooperative societies after 1970, with 2,271 societies registered during 1991–2010 and another 1,862 during 2011–2023. The recent NCD data shows that the number of primary agro-processing/industrial cooperative societies in Maharashtra has reached to 5,587 societies by 15 July 2026. The study concludes that Maharashtra dominates a leading position in India's industrial cooperative sector, although continued emphasis on operational sustainability, modernization, finance, technology and professional management is necessary