Lok Sabha Question No. 2711 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-19
Subject: Onboarding of PACS as Common Service Centres
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Sunita Duggal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2711 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19/12/2023

## Onboarding of PACS as Common Service Centres

## 2711.  SHRIMATI SUNITA DUGGAL

Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकाįरता मंũी) be pleased to state:

(a) whether  onboarding  of  Primary  Agricultural  Credit  Societies  (PACS)  as  Common Service  Centres  (CSCs)  has  started  as  per  recent  MoU  between  CSC  SPV  and  Ministry  & National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD);

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) whether the Government  has  approved  a  decentralised grain  storage  programme involving PACS and if so, the details thereof including Parliamentary Constituency of Sirsa?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकाįरता मंũी (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

(a) to (b): Yes, Sir. In order to enable Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to function as Common Service Centres (CSC), a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Ministry  of  Cooperation,  Ministry  of  Electronics  &  Information  Technology,  NABARD  and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, which will enable PACS to deliver more than 300 eservices, including banking, insurance, Aadhar enrolment/ updation, health services, agricultural services,  etc.  to  rural  citizens  of  the  country.  Onboarding  of  PACS  as  CSCs  has  already  been started and till 30 th November, 2023, total 24,470 PACS have started providing CSC services in the country.

(c):  In  order  to  address  the  shortage  of  food  grain  storage  capacity  in  the  country,  the Government on 31.05.2023, has approved the Plan for the 'World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector', which is being rolled out as a Pilot Project. The Plan entails creation of various agri infrastructure at PACS level, including warehouses, custom hiring center, processing units, setting up decentralized godowns, Fair Price Shops, etc. through convergence of various existing  schemes  of  the  Government  of  India  (GoI),  such  as,  Agriculture  Infrastructure  Fund (AIF),  Agricultural  Marketing  Infrastructure  Scheme  (AMI),  Sub  Mission  on  Agricultural

Mechanization  (SMAM) Pradhan Mantri Formalization  of  Micro  Food  Processing  Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), etc. Further, an MoU has also been signed between Ministry of Cooperation (GoI), Department of Food and Public Distribution (GoI), Food Corporation of India (FCI) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to ensure full capacity utilization of the storage capacity being created at PACS level under the Project.

States/ UTs and National level Cooperative Federations, like National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), have identified 1,711 PACS for creation of storage capacity under the Pilot Project in the  country,  including  138  PACS  in  the  State  of  Haryana  out  of  which  15  PACS  have  been identified by NAFED in the Sirsa District. Presently, construction is going on in 13 PACS of 13 States/  UTs  under  the  Pilot  Project,  including  Madha  PACS  of  Hisar  District  of  the  State  of Haryana.

*****