2 February 2026·PIB

Rapid Survey on Functional Cooperatives (RSFC)

In this note

1. At a Glance

RSFC is a nationwide, list-frame-based survey by MoSPI's NSO to estimate GVA, GVO and employment of India's cooperative sector for the first time at scale [1][2].
Commissioned by the Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) (created 6 July 2021) to plug data gaps in the sector's economic contribution [1].
UPSC relevance: intersects GS-III (economy, cooperatives, statistics) and GS-II (governance, Centre-State data architecture); topical for Prelims (ministry, sampling frame, sector count) [1][2].

02 Feb 2026: MoSPI invited public feedback on the draft questionnaire for RSFC via PIB release [1].
25 March 2026: All India Workshop of Trainers (AIWOT) held at New Delhi to train master trainers for RSFC [2].
Field enumeration set to commence 1 April 2026 for a six-month period through September 2026 [2].

2021: Ministry of Cooperation carved out from Ministry of Agriculture; mandate to give "Sahakar se Samriddhi" a statistical backbone.
2023: Launch of the National Cooperative Database (NCD) — a web-based, geo-tagged repository of all registered cooperative societies, used as the RSFC sampling frame [1][2].
2025-26: MoC formally approached MoSPI for a rapid survey; MoSPI agreed "in principle" based on the NCD list frame [1].
Feb 2026: Draft questionnaire released for stakeholder feedback [1].

Conducting agency: National Statistics Office (NSO), MoSPI; field work by NSO–Field Operations Division (FOD) [2].
Sponsoring ministry: Ministry of Cooperation [1].
Sampling frame: National Cooperative Database (NCD) maintained by MoC [1][2].
Coverage: ~30 cooperative sectors including credit, dairy, fishery, housing, agriculture, handloom, labour, multipurpose; primary cooperatives, multi-state cooperative societies, and district/state/national federations [2].
Geographic scope: All-India, rural + urban [2].
Duration: 6 months from April 2026 [2].
Mode: Web-portal-based data capture [2].
Key outputs sought: Gross Value Added (GVA), Gross Value of Output (GVO), and employment estimates for major cooperative sectors [1].

Economic

First systematic attempt to quantify cooperatives' share in GDP via GVA/GVO; closes a long-standing National Accounts gap [1].
Cooperatives span credit (PACS), dairy (Amul model), fisheries, housing — sectors invisible in current ASI/PLFS frames [1][2].

Administrative / Governance

Demonstrates inter-ministerial data federalism: MoC supplies the frame; MoSPI executes the statistical survey [1].
Uses NCD — a digital public infrastructure for the cooperative sector — operationalising single-source-of-truth governance [1].

Social

Cooperatives are vehicles for rural livelihoods, women SHGs, small-farmer aggregation; survey will yield disaggregated employment data [1].

Legal / Constitutional

Cooperatives are a State subject (Entry 32, State List); multi-state cooperatives fall under Union via the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 inserted Article 43B (DPSP — promotion of cooperatives) and Part IXB; survey responds to its spirit of strengthening cooperatives.

02 Feb 2026 – Draft RSFC questionnaire released for feedback by MoSPI [1].
25 Mar 2026 – AIWOT held at New Delhi to train master trainers [2].
Apr 2026 – Field enumeration commenced; regional training camps (e.g., Raipur) underway [2].

RSFC is conducted by NSO under MoSPI, sponsored by the Ministry of Cooperation [1].
Sampling frame: National Cooperative Database (NCD) [1].
Covers approximately 30 cooperative sectors [2].
Survey duration: six months from April 2026 [2].
Outputs targeted: GVA, GVO and employment of cooperatives [1].
Field work by NSO – Field Operations Division (FOD) [2].
AIWOT held on 25 March 2026 at New Delhi [2].
Ministry of Cooperation was created in 2021; its motto: "Sahakar se Samriddhi".
Article 43B (DPSP) and Part IXB were inserted by the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011.
Cooperative societies are a State subject — Entry 32 of the State List.
Data capture is web-portal based, not paper schedule [2].

GS-II: Government policies — institutional architecture for cooperatives; Centre-State coordination.
GS-III: Indian economy — issues of growth, employment; agricultural marketing; data infrastructure.
Plausible question stems: 1. "The Rapid Survey on Functional Cooperatives addresses a long-standing data gap in Indian national accounts. Discuss its design and significance." (GS-III) 2. "Cooperatives are a state subject, yet require national-level data architecture. Examine in light of recent initiatives by the Ministry of Cooperation." (GS-II) 3. "Evaluate the role of cooperatives in achieving the goal of 'Sahakar se Samriddhi'." (GS-III)

National Cooperative Database (NCD) — RSFC's sampling backbone [1].
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 — regulatory overhaul.
97th Constitutional Amendment, Article 43B, Part IXB — constitutional status of cooperatives.
PACS computerisation scheme — flagship MoC programme on primary credit societies.
PLFS and Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) — comparator MoSPI surveys.
National Statistical Commission / NSO restructuring — statistical governance.
Amul / NDDB / White Revolution — historical cooperative success model.
FPOs (10,000 FPO scheme) — adjacent aggregation model under MoA.

Wrong ministry: RSFC is conducted by MoSPI but sponsored by MoC — both should be remembered.
Confusing NCD (National Cooperative Database) with NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation) — different bodies.
Assuming it is a Census; it is a sample survey on a list frame [1].
Confusing sectors covered (~30) with the often-quoted "8 lakh cooperatives" figure — the latter is universe size, not survey sectors.
Article number for cooperatives DPSP is 43B, not 43A (which is workers' participation).