Over 11,500 Cooperatives Brought Under Central Regulatory Oversight in Nepal

Kathmandu. Approximately 11,500 cooperatives across the country have been brought under central regulatory oversight.

According to data from the National Cooperative Regulatory Authority, 11,648 cooperatives have joined the 'Financial Cooperative Regulation System.' This includes entities ranging from those that have received licenses to those that have partially entered their details into the system.

The Authority had issued a call for registration into the system until Chaitra 17. The Authority stated that it could issue certificates to the cooperatives that have registered within the next month.

It is estimated that there are currently around 29,000 active cooperatives nationwide. The Authority had estimated that about 22,000 of these might be primarily engaged in savings and credit operations. However, data shows that only the mentioned number of cooperatives came under the listing scope within the stipulated time.

Status of Registered Cooperatives

Of the more than 11,500 organizations participating in the system, most have not been able to submit their full details. Only about a quarter of the cooperatives have received certificates. The Authority stated that 2,119 cooperatives have been verified and issued certificates so far, while 939 organizations are in the final stages of verification to receive their certificates.

According to the Authority, only 3,853 cooperatives have entered their full details into the system. Similarly, 4,841 cooperatives have only filled in partial details. Furthermore, the Authority noted that 6,107 cooperatives have incomplete details, for which the Authority has requested additional information and documents.

Provincial Status

Looking at the provincial level, Bagmati has the highest number of cooperatives registered with the Authority, while Karnali has the lowest.

Bagmati Province: From this province, 1,619 organizations have entered full details, while 2,011 have submitted partial details. Additional documents have been requested from 2,305 organizations in this province. So far, 375 organizations have received licenses, and 775 are in the process of verification.

Koshi Province: After Bagmati, Koshi Province is ahead. Here, 497 organizations have filled in full details and 709 have filled in partial details. Documents for 991 organizations were found to be insufficient, while 438 have received licenses.

Lumbini Province: In this province, 586 cooperatives filled in full details, while 592 provided partial details. 849 organizations were returned due to insufficient documents, and 443 have received licenses.

Gandaki Province: In Gandaki, 495 full and 527 partial details have been entered. Additional documents have been requested from 671 organizations, while only 373 have received licenses.

Madhesh Province: In Madhesh, 519 organizations have filled in full details. 444 have partial details, and additional documents have been requested from 566 organizations. Here, 182 organizations have received licenses.

Sudurpashchim Province: Here, only 42 cooperatives have entered full details. 223 have partial details, while documents for 487 organizations are incomplete. The number of those receiving licenses is 193.

Karnali Province: Karnali Province is the furthest behind in updating cooperative data. Only 15 cooperatives from this province have entered full details into the online system. 227 have filled in partial details, while additional documents have been requested from 292 organizations. Here, 115 organizations have received licenses.

Why Did Cooperatives Not Come Forward as Expected?

The Authority began the registration process for cooperatives on Mangsir 10. While the Authority considers the number of cooperatives that came forward in about 4 months to be an achievement, it stated that it is not sufficient.

Authority Chairman Khagaraj Sharma mentions several reasons for this. The first reason, according to him, is that not all cooperative operators are aware that they must be listed. He also believes that some cooperatives may not have come forward because they did not know the registration process, even if they were aware of the requirement.

He stated that it was found that some cooperatives could not join the listing process even if they wanted to because they had not held general meetings or conducted audits. Similarly, it was found that some did not come to join the system immediately because they needed to reconcile their accounts.

The Authority also stated that in the case of some cooperatives, the District Cooperative Unions, thematic cooperative unions, and the cooperative movement itself did not encourage registration. The Cooperative Act defines organizations that conduct more than 30 percent of their business in savings and credit as cooperatives primarily engaged in savings and credit operations.

Since the Act provides for listing within one year, the Authority is preparing to reopen the process in the future by making legal arrangements, even though new listings closed after Chaitra 17.