The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011 gave a constitutional status and protection to co-operative societies. In this context, it made the following three changes in the Constitution:
It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).
It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on promotion of co-operative societies (Article 43-B).
It added a new Part IX-B in the Constitution which is entitled as “The Co-operative Societies” (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT).
