Read the given below two statements and mark the correct answer.

Assertion (A): A cooperative society is a voluntary association of persons formed for the welfare of its members.
Reason (R) : Cooperative societies are established to protect the economic interests of members from potential exploitation by profit-oriented middlemen.

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).

The correct answer is option 1- Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).

The assertion states that a cooperative society is a voluntary association of persons formed for the welfare of its members. This is true because cooperative societies are indeed established by individuals voluntarily coming together with the common objective of advancing their collective welfare, particularly in economic terms. The reason provided is that cooperative societies are established to protect the economic interests of members from potential exploitation by profit-oriented middlemen. This is also true because one of the primary purposes of cooperative societies is to enable members to pool their resources and collectively engage in economic activities such as production, distribution, or purchasing, thereby bypassing intermediaries who may seek to maximize profits at the expense of the members.