‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1919-20’ [‎232r] (11/192)

1919-1920.]
GENERAL SUMMARY.
Ill
(e) The new cattle-breeding farm at Bankapur (Dharwar district) for
Mysore cattle was opened and a fine lot of cattle was selected with which to
start the operations.
(/) The number of students at the Agricultural College, Poona, rose from
170 to 203. The College is certainly popular and its facilities for education
are being added to every year. The new Agricultural School in Gujarat
completed the first year.of its existence with success, and the indications are
that it will draw pupils without difficulty. A scheme for six more agricultural
schools was sanctioned, and it was hoped to get them constructed at once, but
the financial situation necessitated a postponement of this work.
5. Co-opGFcitiVG SOCiGtlGS. (a) The most important matter dealt with
in the year was that of the finance of the Co-operative Movement as a whole.
The lines on which improvement must be sought soon became clear. It was
evident that the District Banks must remain the main unit of finance, but that
the limits of their districts need not necessarily be conterminous with those
of the Revenue districts ; that they must be strengthened and their share
capital rapidly increased ; that they should be inspected by the Provincial Bank
and should in turn inspect all Agricultural Resource Societies ; and that
Guaranteeing Unions should only be organised pari passu with the ability of
District Banks to finance and supervise them. Steps were also taken to have
the Provincial Bank fully recognised as such. These steps naturally led in
turn to a necessary improvement in banking methods by the introduction of
cheques and discounting business.
(b) Another matter of great importance in practice as well as in theory to
the movement was the clasification of all societies on a new basis. They are
now divided into three classes : (1) Resource Societies, (2) Consumers’ Societies,
including Building Societies, and (3) Producers’ Societies, according as their
objects are to provide resources to members as individuals, or to appropriate all
means of production collectively by consumers in common, or to exercise a trade
in common for common advantage.
(c) In this Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. there now exist in all 273 Non-Agricultural Credit
Societies, of which 231 are on the basis of limited liability. Of these, 111 exist
in Bombay City alone. Karachi, Ahmedabad and Poona are unfortunately
still much behind hand in this important branch of the movement. These
limited societies had 63,000 members in all, and a paid up share capital of
17-2 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . Prom members and non-members together they held deposits of 45
lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees and had built up a reserve fund of nearly 3 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . There are in all 14
Central Banks registered which are responsible for the finance of rural societies
in the districts in which they exist.
(d) The Provincial Bank had a very difficult year to pull through. In
spite of this the working of the Bank was eminently successful. Its total
working capital again rose in spite of the unfavourable season and reached the
inspiring figure of 37 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .
{e) The Resource Movement as a whole includes the Provincial and district
Central Banks, all Agricultural Societies (except Producers’ Societies), and all
Urban Credit Societies. In the Resource Movement the total membership
is 224,900. The working capital of the movement in the year under report
reached the very fair total of two and a half crores. The reserve fund of the
movement amounted to 13^ lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , and the profits to 5*86 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .
(/) The Consumers’ Movement had been handicapped by various condi
tions inherent in the actual situation and by some not less grave misunder
standings shared by most of those concerned. There were, however, 59 societies
of this type in existence on the 31st March and some of them have been doing
very well: others, however, have made mistakes in business and have suffered
Joss. The organization of Building Societies has made great progress during
he year. The total number in existence at the end of March was 21. The
movement is, however, faced by a very real and practical difficulty in the
enormously heavy price of labour and material.