Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) are specialized cooperative organizations in India, primarily focused on promoting the welfare of tribals and people residing in hilly and remote areas. These societies are particularly important in rural and underserved regions, providing financial and non-financial services to their members.
- Target Group
- Provides a service to any tribals and hill, forested, and other inaccessible areas of India.
- Uplifts the downtrodden, offering them credit, procurement, and marketing services.
- Objectives
- Tribal Development: Promotion of economic activities among tribals.
- Credit Service: Provides short-term loans as a credit service to the tribal people.
- Marketing Service: Helps in procurement and marketing of tribal products.
- Social Welfare Programmes: Water and sanitation, education, health, and skills are encouraged among tribal people.
- Organization
- Organized in the normal formats of cooperative societies with tribal participation as the main members and run by the elected board of directors from within the cooperative.
- Services Offered
- Financial Services: Offers a variety of credit, savings, and insurance products.
- Procurement and Marketing Services: Collects forestry and agriculture products and other local items from the tribals.
- Training and Development: Training to tribals on agriculture, livelihood skills, business management, and sustainable practices.
- Governance and Regulation
- Generally regulated by the State Governments and come under the purview of the State Cooperative Societies Act.
- Functionality of LAMPS in Rural and Tribal Development
- Financial Inclusion: It would bring about bridging the gaps of economically marginalized spaces.
- Livelihood Support: Provide access to resources for both farm and non-farm activities.
- Market Access: Ensure that tribal products fetch better prices.
- Community Development: Contribute towards social as well as economic upliftment of tribal communities.
- Government Support:
- Different financial incentives, subsidies.
