Mr. Ivjyot Singh

Hi Ivjyot, good to have you on board! Could you tell us about your previous work with co-operatives?

Before joining as a Program Officer in ICA-AP, I worked as Inspector, Co-operative Societies under Government of Punjab, India. Before I narrate my experience with the co-operative movement, I would like to briefly highlight my job profile as an Inspector. 

Broadly speaking, my job work entailed being a torchbearer of the co-operative movement at the field level. The core part of my work involved inspecting the day-to-day activities of the co-operative societies within my purview. Other than inspection, I acted as an arbitrator of disputes between different actors in cooperative societies; held responsibility of a returning officer to carry out elections of the Managing Committee; liquidated societies which had gone defunct; and assumed the responsibility of an administrator of a society, if required.

That sounds pretty serious, could you elaborate a bit more, and if you enjoyed your work as inspector, co-operatives?

Apart from carrying out the designated responsibilities, my work also involved implementing government schemes related to co-operatives. Some examples would be the debt waiver scheme by the government of Punjab; In-Situ Crop residue management with the help of agricultural implements to counter stubble burning, a problem which attracted international attention.

The part of my work which I enjoyed the most was interacting with people. This involved discussing the rules, regulations, laws, by-laws and schemes related to co-operatives. Dealing with the public, helped me stay close to the ground realities of the co-operatives, which not only made me aware of the difficulties faced by the members of the society but also helped me valuable feedback about the gaps and missing links between policy design and its implementation to higher authorities.

You are a young person yourself; how would express your thoughts on youth and co-operatives?

There is clearly a dearth of youth participation in the cooperative movement, at least in Punjab. This aspect first surfaced when I was undergoing training with my fellow young inspectors where we all discovered how little we knew about this sector. Then it became more obvious as we worked, because the demography we interacted with, rarely involved young people.

However, while working for the co-operative movement, I felt that the cooperative model is far better than the conventional way of doing business. First of all, it’s democratic; and second, it has concern for community as its pillar, which is the need of the hour. While businesses these days run only for profits, co-operatives run for its people and support each other as well in times of need under ‘cooperation among cooperatives’. Given the right legislative impetus and financial help, youth co-operatives can surely be popular.

So, what are your main plans while serving as the Program Officer at the ICA-AP?

While working as a Program Officer in ICA-AP, I intend to channelize my understanding and faith in the cooperative model and take the cooperative movement further.

Thank you, Ivjyot! And welcome to the team!

Thank you!