The Montha cyclone falls on land, crosses the coast between Machilipatnam and Kakinada, at Antarvedipalem. Windspeed crossing 100 kmph. ~4000 villages likely to be affected; ~100,000 shifted to relief camps. Widespread rains are across AP, Odisha, Telangana.
Congratulations. Lakshma Naik, Prakash, Subhashini. For receiving Rythu Nestam Puraskarams (awards) from the hands of Hon’ble former Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu.
André Hoffmann and a team including his wife Rosalie Coombe-Tennant, GIST Advisory CEO Pavan Sukhdev, Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet Secretary-General Sathya Tripathi visited APCNF. André Hoffmann is a Swiss businessman billionaire; vice chairman of Roche Holding; prominent environmentalist and advocate for sustainable business practices – involved in the World Economic Forum and the World Wide Fund for Nature. He co-authored the book, “The New Nature of Business,” and co-founded InTent with his wife. and they co-founded the Hoffmann Institute at INSEAD. He chairs GIST Advisory.
Sadgati. Rama Reddy. MRR. Mamidi Rama Reddy, 82 [1943 – 26 Oct 2025] rests peacefully at Hyderabad. Once-in-many-generations leader. Legendary Cooperator. Chief executive officer at Sangam Laxmibai Vidyapeeth. Was: Student of Journalism at Osmania, Political Science at Delhi and Local Government and Economic Development at Princeton; journalist with Patriot and Link; Sarpanch, Shamshabad Gram Panchayat; Samithi President, Rajendra Nagar; Founding President of Cooperative Development Foundation, Sahavikasa. Samakhya. Cooperator par excellence. Led: Thrift and Credit Cooperatives effort; multi-purpose cooperatives; Mulkanoor dairy. Responsible for liberal cooperative act (mutually-aided cooperative societies, MACS, or self-reliant cooperatives, new generation cooperatives) across 9 states, starting with AP in 1995; new liberal, progressive member-centric societies’ registration act, 2001, in AP And TS; and 97th Amendment to the Constitution explicitly recognising citizens’ Fundamental Right to form and run cooperatives under Article 19(1)(c). On several boards (many a time – co-founding), including Dairy Board, NDDB; IRMA; Centre for Collective Development, CCD; Foundation for Democratic Reforms, FDR; Lok Satta Movement; Cooperative Initiative Panel along with Dr V Kurien, Mohan Dharia, LC Jain. CDF went on to help existing cooperatives to transit to new Acts; facilitate new cooperatives under the new Acts. Central Cooperative Act, and the Producers’ Company Form also offer more freedom for members. With New Acts, forms suitable for self-help groups, federations, enterprises have become available.
MRR was my teacher: taught, along with Tom Carter and Tushar, ‘Logic of Cooperatives’. Around the same time, Robert Chambers came down to teach us ‘Participation’. With time, we got involved in this journey of MRR in small ways, over the last four decades. MRR stepped down from public engagements as he reached 70. MRR handed over CDF leadership and governance to local levels – a potential, a possibility to scale new heights in national-global cooperative advocacy was not pursued. Amongst many things, MRR mentored us on, diligence is one – crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘I’s. Feasibility, Viability, Sustainability, Governance, and Legacy are the others. Cooperation, Collective Action, Participation, inclusion, member-controlled governance – MRR’s spirit continues in us.
Can we build ‘influence’ organizations, networks? That facilitates member-controlled collectives in general, and collectives of the poor-vulnerable-marginalized in particular?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Being in the steps of the members. In N? sahkaarayoga for 7L.