Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 2002
Also called: MSCS Act · Topic: Civil Society, Pressure Groups, NGOs and Self-help Groups · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act 2002 is a central law for cooperative societies that work in more than one state. These societies are registered with and supervised by a Central Registrar. The Centre can make this law because multi-state cooperatives fall under Union List entry 44, while ordinary cooperatives are a State subject (State List entry 32). The Act matters even more since the Rajendra N. Shah case (2021). That judgment kept Part IXB of the Constitution, the cooperative chapter added by the 97th Amendment, alive only for multi-state cooperatives.
Example
IFFCO, KRIBHCO and NAFED are national cooperatives governed by this Act. The failure of Sahara-group societies exposed gaps in the law. The MSCS (Amendment) Act 2023 responded by adding a Cooperative Election Authority, a Cooperative Ombudsman and a fund to revive sick societies.
Don't confuse with
- State cooperative societies Acts: each state's own law for cooperatives working inside that state, under its own Registrar.