Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904

One impact of the Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900 was that the Money Landers started not giving any loans to the Agriculturalists, because now they could not keep their land as mortgage. So now there was a need to establish agriculture and rural Banks.

The earliest act regarding the rural credit was the Land Improvements Loans Act of 1883. But this act had many defects in its functioning.

• In 1892, the Government appointed a committee under Fredrick Nicholson to advise the government on the starting of Agricultural banks and land Banks in Madras Presidency.
• The committee submitted its report in 1895 and 1899. The committee made strong recommendation of introduction of the rural banks on cooperative lines.

  Prior to that in state of Baroda, an ‘Anyonya Sahakari Mandali’ was organized in 1889, which is said to be India’s first cooperative arrangement.

  In 1904, Cooperative Credit Societies Act, was enacted. This act gave the impetus to the Cooperative Movement in India.

• Soon after India’s first “urban cooperative credit society” was registered in Kanjivaram in the Madras Presidency in October, 1904.

  The others that followed were as follows:

1. Pioneer Urban Cooperative Society in Bombay (1905)
2. No.1 Military Accounts Mutual Help Co-operative Credit Society in Poona (1906).
3. Cosmos Cooperative Society Pune (1906).

   The act was later amended in 1912 and in 1915, the Maclagan Committee was appointed to review their performance and suggest measures for strengthening them.
   

   Some more important step taken by Lord Curzon were as follows:

• He established a Agriculture Research Institute in Pusa (Bihar – Bengal Presidency)
• He passed the ancient Monuments Protection Act and established an Archeological department in 1901.
• He also established a Police Commission under the chairmanship of Andrew Frazer in 1902.
• In each province, a criminal investigation department was set up.
• In 1901, Imperial Cadet Corps was launched.
• A University Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Thomas Raleigh.
• Indian Universities Act 1904 was passed.

  The most important bombshell was the partition of Bengal in 1905.