November 24: The government has decided to put on hold the registration, service expansion and establishment of cooperatives of any nature.    
The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has urged the authorities concerned to endorse the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend the registration, service expansion and permission of service centres related to cooperatives, particularly those meant for savings and credit services, until further provisions are made.    
The Ministry’s Spokesperson Ganesh Prasad Bhatta said that the recent developments in the cooperative sector is likely to have adverse effects in the overall financial sector and therefore the government decided to restrict business expansion of savings and credit cooperatives through a Cabinet decision on November 9.    
According to the Ministry, there is a concerning trend among many savings and credit cooperatives which are in significant numbers across the country to accept huge deposits and invest in high-risk sectors. Similarly, the cooperative sector is grappling with a financial crisis as members and depositors are facing challenges in retrieving their savings. -- RSS