Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari met Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar at his office in the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, on Monday. Pawar later described the interaction as a ‘courtesy visit.’
In a post on X, Pawar said, “During the meeting, several important issues related to the state and the Centre were discussed in detail.” Present during the visit were NCP (SP) Maharashtra president Jayant Patil, MP Supriya Sule, Maharashtra State Co-op (MSC) Bank administrative board chairman Vidyadhar Anaskar and party leader Yugendra Pawar.
Later in the day, at a public event, Gadkari urged the Maharashtra government to consider drafting a new law for the cooperative sector in light of changing economic conditions. He stressed that the cooperative movement can play a key role in uplifting rural communities by improving their financial conditions.
He also encouraged the MSC Bank to conduct a detailed study on the socio-economic impact of cooperatives across tehsil and district levels, measuring indicators such as employment, per capita income, and growth rate.
“There is a need to find a middle path between the Cooperative Act and the Companies Act to create a modern law that meets today’s needs,” Gadkari said, calling on the chief minister and deputy chief minister to take the lead. Highlighting sector-wise economic imbalances, Gadkari pointed out that while agriculture employs 60% of the population, it contributes only 12% to the GDP. In contrast, manufacturing contributes around 22–24% and the services sector 52–54%, generating the highest GST revenue.
