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Recently, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched Mission SAKSHAM (Sahakari Bank Kshamta Nirman), a landmark initiative designed to revolutionize the Urban Co-operative Banking (UCB) sector. This mission-mode, all-India project represents a significant shift toward professionalizing and modernizing the cooperative banking landscape, ensuring it remains resilient in an increasingly complex financial environment.

Understanding Mission SAKSHAM

Mission SAKSHAM is a comprehensive capacity-building and certification framework. Its primary mandate is to address the historical gaps in managerial and operational capabilities within UCBs. By transitioning the sector toward a sustainable ecosystem for continuous learning, the RBI aims to strengthen the financial health and institutional resilience of these community-focused institutions.

Key Pillars and Targeted Reach

The mission is distinguished by its scale and inclusivity, aiming to reach 1.40 lakh participants across the nationwide UCB sector. Unlike generic training programs, it adopts a "top-to-bottom" cultural shift by targeting specific, critical roles within the banking hierarchy:

• Governance & Leadership: Board Members and Senior Management.
• Risk & Control: Heads of Risk Management, Compliance, and Audit functions.
• Technical Operations: Employees specializing in IT functions and other critical operational areas.

Operational Model and Features

To ensure effective penetration, especially among smaller and regional cooperatives, Mission SAKSHAM utilizes a blended learning model that combines in-person (offline) sessions with digital (e-learning) modules.

• Linguistic Accessibility: Recognizing India’s diversity, the training content is delivered in regional languages to ensure the "intent of the law" is accessible to local board members and staff.
• Institutional Collaboration: The mission was not designed in isolation; it was developed in close consultation with the Umbrella Organisation for UCBs (such as the NUCFDC) and various National and State Cooperative Federations.
• Certification Framework: A standardized certification process is integrated into the mission to ensure that skills and competencies are uniform across the sector.