Q.What is a Cooperative Society?

A cooperative society is built on voluntary self-help and mutual help among members who share a common economic interest, formalised through registration.

A Cooperative Society is a voluntary association of persons, typically of limited individual means, who come together on a basis of equality to advance their shared economic interests through self-help and mutual help, and who obtain formal registration under a Cooperative Societies Act (the central Cooperative Societies Act, 1912, or the relevant state Act). Once registered, it becomes a distinct legal entity — a body corporate with perpetual succession — managed democratically by its members on a one-member-one-vote basis, regardless of how much capital each has contributed. The guiding idea is captured in the phrase 'each for all and all for each': members pool their resources to secure collectively what would be difficult to secure individually, such …

Students sometimes describe a cooperative society as existing purely to earn profit for its members, like a company. Its real distinguishing feature is a service motive — helping members meet a shared economic need — wit …