Shimla, Sept. 13 -- Himachal Pradesh on Saturday hosted a two-day national cooperative conference in Shimla, with top representatives of cooperative societies and banks from across the country in attendance.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the cooperation portfolio, inaugurated the conference and declared that India's cooperative sector is poised for a major expansion.

"The cooperative movement has a bright future in India. Its beginnings were made here in Himachal Pradesh as early as 1792, and today it has spread across the country," Minister Agnihotri told reporters.

He welcomed the Centre's decision to establish a Cooperative University, noting that affiliated institutions and colleges would be able to introdu...