Rural Credit Cooperatives in Maharashtra

Examining the different phases of growth and distribution of cooperative credit in Maharashtra between the 1960s and 2000s, this paper tries to understand the multiple dimensions of the phenomenon in the state—across regions, crops, ownership and size classes of land, and social groups. Although Maharashtra has been leading in the expansion of credit cooperatives, this has been marked by a distinct bias in favour of Western Maharashtra where cash crops, particularly sugar cane are grown. The process has largely eluded Eastern and Central Maharashtra, where cotton and other crops are grown.