Lok Sabha Question No. 1462 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-12
Subject: Development of Cooperative Sector
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Adala Prabhakara Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1462 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12/12/2023

## Development of Cooperative Sector

## 1462. SHRI ADALA PRABHAKARA REDDY :

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

- (a) the details of schemes operating in the country for cooperatives;
- (b) the schemes being implemented for the development of the cooperative sector in Andhra Pradesh and the total funds allocated by the Government for this purpose;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  received  any  proposals  from  the  State  Government  of Andhra Pradesh regarding cooperative sector development; and (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  to  (d):  In  order  to  realize  the  vision  of  'Sahakar  -  se  -  Samriddhi',  strengthening cooperative movement in the country, deepen its reach to the grassroots and development of cooperative sector, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Cooperation across the country including the State of Andhra Pradesh. List of such initiatives and their progress is enclosed as Annexure.

Under  the  Computerization  of  Primary  Agricultural  Credit  Society  (PACS)  project,  a proposal to computerize 2,037 PACS in the State of Andhra Pradesh has been received and sanctioned. Further, details of funds released under various schemes/projects to the State of Andhra Pradesh are as under:

1. Computerization  of  PACS  Project: Rs.  14.93  Cr.  has  been  released  to  State  of Andhra Pradesh for hardware procurement, digitization and establishment of support system.
2. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC): Total financial assistance including loans and subsidies amounting to Rs.  28,069 Cr. have been released by NCDC to the State of Andhra Pradesh.

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## Various Initiatives taken by Ministry of Cooperation

Ministry of Cooperation, since its inception on 6 th July, 2021, has undertaken several initiatives to realize  the  vision  of  'Sahakar-se-Samriddhi'  and  to  strengthen  &  deepen  the  cooperative movement from Primary to Apex level Cooperatives in the country. List of initiatives taken and progress made so far are as follows:

## A. Making Primary Cooperatives economically vibrant and transparent

1. Model  Bye-Laws  for  PACS  making  them  multipurpose,  multidimensional  and transparent  entities :  Government,  in  consultation  with  all  the  stakeholders,  including States/  UTs,  National  Level  Federations,  State  Cooperative  Banks  (StCBs),  District Central  Cooperative  Banks  (DCCBs),  etc.,  has  prepared  and  circulated  Model  Byelaws for PACS to all the States/ UTs, which enable PACS to undertake more than 25 business activities,  improve  governance,  transparency  and  accountability  in  their  operations. Provisions have also  been  made  to make  the  membership  of  PACS  more inclusive and broad-based,  giving  adequate  representation to  women  and  Scheduled Castes/Schedules Tribes. Model Byelaws have been adopted by 31 States/ UTs so far.
2. Strengthening of PACS through Computerization : In order to strengthen PACS, project for  Computerization  of  63,000  functional  PACS  with  a  total  financial  outlay  of  ₹2,516 Crore  has  been  approved  by  the  Government  of  India,  which  entails  bringing  all functional  PACS  in  the  Country  onto  a  common  ERP  based  national  software,  linking them with NABARD through StCBs and DCCBs. A total of 62,318 PACS from 28 States/ UTs including 2,037 PACS in the State of Andhra Pradesh have been sanctioned under the project. Software is ready and trials have already started in 5,673 PACS in 26 States/ UTs so far.
3. New Multipurpose PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery Cooperatives in uncovered Panchayats : A proposal  has  been  approved  by  the  Government  to  set  up  new  multi-purpose  PACS  or primary dairy/ fisheries  cooperatives  covering  every  Panchayat/  village in the  next  five years,  with  support  of  NABARD,  NDDB,  NFDB,  NCDC  and  other  National  level Federations. As reported by the States/ UTs, the process for registering 9,961 new PACS/ Dairy/  Fishery  cooperative  societies  in  23  States/  UTs  including  768  primary  Dairy/ Fishery Cooperatives in the State of Andhra Pradesh is in various stages.
4. World's Largest Decentralized Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative sector : Government  has  approved  a  plan  to  create  warehouses,  custom  hiring  centres,  primary processing  units  and  other  agri-infra  for  grain  storage  at  PACS  level,  by  converging various  schemes  of  Government  such  as  AIF,  AMI,  SMAM,  PMFME,  etc.  This  will reduce  wastage  of  food  grains  and  transportation  costs,  enable farmers  to  realize  better prices for their produce and meet various agricultural needs at the PACS level itself. 22 States/  UTs  and  National  level  Cooperative  Federations  such  as  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. At present, construction is going in 13 PACS of 13 States/

UTs under the Pilot Project including Mritunjaya Sahkari Samiti Achanta (PACS) in West Godavari District of State of Andhra Pradesh.

5. PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) for better access to e-services :  MoU has been signed between Ministry of Cooperation, MeitY, NABARD and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited for providing more than 300 e-services such as banking, insurance, Aadhar enrolment/ updation, health services, PAN card and IRCTC/ Bus/ Air ticket, etc. through  PACS.  So  far,  24,470  PACS  including    1,708  PACS  in  the    State  of  Andhra Pradesh have started providing CSC services to the rural citizens which will also result in increase in income of those PACS at the same time.
6. Formation of new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) by PACS : Government has allowed 1,100 additional FPOs to be formed by PACS with the support of NCDC, in those blocks where FPOs have not yet been formed or the blocks are not covered by any other implementing agency. This will be helpful in providing the farmers with necessary market linkage and get fair and remunerative prices for their produce.
7. PACS given priority for Retail Petrol/ Diesel outlets : Government has allowed PACS to be  included  in  the  Combined  Category  2  (CC2)  for  allotment  of  retail  petrol/  diesel outlets. As  per information received from Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), a total of 228 PACS including 3 PACS in the State of Andhra Pradesh have applied online for retail petrol/ diesel outlets.
8. PACS given permission to convert bulk consumer petrol pumps into retail outlets : Based on the discussions with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, guidelines have been issued to convert  the existing  bulk  consumer licensee  PACS  into  retail  outlets  for increasing the profit of PACS and generate employment opportunities in rural areas. 109 PACS  from  5  States  having wholesale consumer  pumps  have  given  consent  for conversion into Retail Outlets, out of which 43 PACS have received Letter of Intent (LOI) from the OMCs.
9. PACS eligible for LPG Distributorship for diversifying its activities : Government has now allowed PACS to apply for LPG Distributorships. This will give PACS an option to increase their economic activities and create new employment opportunities in rural areas. Two locations have already been advertised in the State of Jharkhand.
10. PACS  as  PM  Bharatiya  Jan  Aushadhi  Kendra  for  improving  access  to  generic medicines  at  rural  level :  Government  is  promoting  PACS  to  operate  Pradhan  Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras which will provide additional income source to them and provide  easy  access  of  generic  medicines to rural citizens.  So  far,  4,289  PACS/ cooperative  societies  have  applied  online  for  PM  Janaushadhi  Kendras,  out  of  which 2,293 PACS have been given initial approval also.

In Andhra Pradesh, 231 PACS have applied online out of which 151 PACS have got initial approval and 118 PACS have received Drug License for operationalization of Janaushadhi Kendras.

11. PACS  as  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samriddhi  Kendras  (PMKSK): Government  is promoting PACS to operate PMKSK for ensuring easy accessibility of fertilizer & related services to farmers in the country. As per the information shared by States/ UTs, 28,648 PACS including 827 PACS in the State of Andhra Pradesh are functioning as PMKSK so far.
12. Convergence of PM-KUSUM at PACS level : Farmers associated with PACS can adopt solar agricultural water pumps and install photovoltaic modules in their farms.
13. PACS to carry out O&M of rural piped water supply schemes  (PWS) :  In  order  to utilize the reach of PACS in rural areas, on the initiative of the Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has made PACS as eligible agencies to carry out the Operations & Maintenance  (O&M)  of  PWS  in  rural  areas. As  per  information  received  from  States/ UTs,  1,381  PACS  have  been  identified  by  12  States/  UTs  to  provide  O&M  services  at Panchayat/ Village level.
14. Micro-ATMs to Bank Mitra Cooperative Societies for providing doorsteps financial services :  Dairy and Fisheries cooperative societies can be made Bank Mitras of DCCBs and  StCBs  to  ensure  their  ease  of  doing  business,  transparency  and  financial  inclusion, Micro-ATMs  are  also  being  given  to  these  Bank  Mitra  Co-operative  Societies  with support  from  NABARD  to  provide  'Door  Step  Financial  Services'.  As  a  pilot  project, 1,723  Micro-ATMs  have  been  distributed  to  Bank  Mitra cooperative societies in Panchmahal and Banaskantha Districts of Gujarat.
15. Rupay Kisan Credit Card to Members of Milk Cooperatives :  In  order to expand the reach  of  DCCBs/  StCBs  and  to  provide  necessary  liquidity  to  the  members  of  Dairy Cooperative  societies,  Rupay  Kisan  Credit  Cards  (KCCs)  are  being  distributed  to  the members of cooperatives  for  providing  credit  at  comparatively  lower  interest  rates  and enable  other  financial  transactions.  As  a  pilot  project,  73,503  Rupay  KCC  have  been distributed in Panchmahal and Banaskantha Districts of Gujarat.
16. Formation of Fish Farmer Producer Organization (FFPO) : In order to provide market linkage  and  providing  processing  facilities  to  the  fishermen,  NCDC  has  registered 69 FFPOs  in  the  initial  phase.  Department  of  Fisheries,  Government  of  India  has  further allocated  conversion  of 1000existing  fisheries  cooperative  societies  into  FFPOs  to NCDC, with an approved outlay of Rs 225.50 crore.

## B. Strengthening the Urban and Rural Cooperative Banks

17. UCBs have been allowed to open new branches to expand their business: UCBs can now  open  new  branches  up  to  10%  (maximum  5  branches)  of  the  existing  number  of branches in the previous financial year without prior approval of RBI.
18. UCBs have been allowed by RBI to offer doorstep services to their customers: Door step banking facility can now be provided by the UCBs. Account holders associated with these  banks  can  now  avail  various  banking  facilities  at  home  such  as  cash  withdrawal, cash deposit, KYC, demand draft and life certificate for pensioners, etc.
19. Cooperative banks  have  been  allowed  to  make  one-time  settlement  of  outstanding loans,  like  Commercial  Banks: Co-operative  banks,  through  board-approved  policies, can now provide process for technical write-off as well as settlement with borrowers.
20. Time  limit  increased  to  achieve  Priority  Sector  Lending  (PSL)  targets  given  to UCBs : RBI has extended the timeline for UCBs to achieve Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets by two years i.e., up to March 31, 2026.
21. A  Nodal  Officer  designated  in  RBI  for  regular  interaction  with  UCBs :  In  order  to meet  the  long  pending  demand  of  the  cooperative  sector  for  closer  coordination  and focused interaction, RBI has notified a nodal officer as well.
22. Individual housing loan limit more than doubled by RBI for Rural and Urban Cooperative Banks:
- a. Housing loan limit of Urban cooperative banks have now been doubled from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 60 lakh.
- b. Housing loan limit of Rural cooperative banks has been increased to two and a half times to Rs 75 lakh.
23. Rural  Co-operative  Banks  will  now  be  able  to  lend  to  commercial  real  estate/ residential housing sector, thereby diversifying their business : This will not only help Rural  co-operative  banks  to  diversify  their  business,  but  benefit  Housing  co-operative societies also.
24. License fee  reduced  for  Cooperative  Banks :  License  fee  for  onboarding  Cooperative Banks to 'Aadhaar Enabled Payment System' (AePS) has been reduced by linking it to the number  of  transactions.  Cooperative  financial  institutions  will  also  be  able  to  get  the facility  free  of  cost  for  the  first  three  months  of  the  pre-production  phase.  With  this, farmers  will  now  be  able  to  get  the  facility  of  banking  at  their  home  with  their fingerprints.
25. Non-scheduled UCBs, StCBs and DCCBs notified as Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) in CGTMSE Scheme to increase the share of cooperatives in lending: The cooperative banks will now be able to take advantage of risk coverage up to 85 percent on the loans given. Also, cooperative sector enterprises will also be able to get collateral free loans from co-operative banks now.
26. Notification  of  Scheduling  norms  for  including  Urban  Co-operative  Banks: UCBs that meet the 'Financially Sound  and  Well  Managed'  (FSWM)  criteria  and  have maintained  the  minimum  deposits  required  for  classification  as  Tier  3  for  the  last  two

years  are  now  eligible  to  be  included  in  Schedule  II  of  the  Reserve  Bank  of  India Act 1934 and get 'Scheduled' status.

27. Monetary ceiling doubled by RBI for Gold Loan: RBI has doubled monetary ceiling from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs.4 lakh, for those UCBs that meet the PSL targets.
28. Umbrella Organization for Urban Cooperative Banks :  RBI has accorded approval to the National Federation of  Urban Co-operative Banks  and Credit Societies Ltd. (NAFCUB)  for  the  formation  of  an  Umbrella  Organization  (UO)  for  the  UCB  sector, which  will  provide  necessary  IT  infrastructure  and  operation  support  to  around  1,500 UCBs.

## C. Relief to Cooperative Societies in the Income Tax Act

29. Surcharge  reduced  from  12  %  to  7%  for  co-operative  societies  having  income between  Rs.  1  to  10  Cr.: This  will  reduce  the  burden  of  Income  Tax  on  Cooperative Societies  and  more  capital  will  be  available  with  them  to  work  for  the  benefit  of  their members.
30. MAT reduced for cooperatives from 18.5% to 15%: With this provision, now there is parity between Cooperative Societies and Companies in this regard.
31. Relief  in  cash  transactions  under  section  269ST  of the  Income Tax Act: In  order  to remove difficulties in cash transactions by cooperatives under Section 269ST of IT Act, Government has issued a clarification that cash transaction of less than Rs. 2 lakhs done by a cooperative society with its  distributor in a  day  will  be considered separately, and will not be charged with income tax penalty.
32. Tax cut for new manufacturing Cooperative societies: Government has decided that a flat lower tax rate of 15% will be charged, compared to an earlier rate of up to 30% plus surcharge,  for  new  cooperatives  commencing  manufacturing  activities  by  March  31, 2024. This will encourage the formation of new cooperative societies in the manufacturing sector.
33. Increase  in  limit  of  Cash  Deposits  and  Cash  Loans  by  PACS  and  PCARDBs: Government  has  enhanced  the  limit  for  Cash  Deposits  and  Cash  Loans  by  PACS  and Primary  Cooperative Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  Banks  (PCARDBs)  from  Rs 20,000 to  Rs  2  lakh  per  member. This  provision  will  facilitate  their  activities,  increase their business and benefit members of their societies.
34. Increase  in  the  limit  of  Tax  Deducted  at  Source  (TDS)  in  Cash  Withdrawal: Government  has  increased  the  cash  withdrawal  limit  of  cooperative  societies  without deduction of tax at source from Rs.1 crore to Rs.3 crore per year. This provision will save Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for cooperative societies, which will enhance liquidity of the cooperative society.

## D. Revival of Cooperative Sugar Mills

35. Relief  from  Income  Tax  to  Sugar  Cooperative  Mills :  Government  has  issued  a clarification that Sugar cooperative mills would not be subjected to additional income tax for  paying  higher  sugarcane  prices  to  farmers  up  to  Fair  and  Remunerative  or  State Advised Price, from April, 2016 onwards.
36. Resolution of decades old pending issues related to Income Tax of Sugar Cooperative Mills :  Government  has  made  a  provision  in  its  Union  Budget  2023-24,  wherein  Sugar cooperatives  have  been  allowed  to  claim  as  expenditure  their  payments  to  sugarcane farmers  for  the  period  prior  to  assessment  year  2016-17,  giving  a  relief  of  more  than Rs.10,000 crores.
37. Rs. 10,000 crore loan scheme launched for strengthening of Sugar Cooperative Mills : Government  has  launched  a  scheme  through  NCDC  for  setting  up  ethanol  plants  or cogeneration plants or for working capital or for all three purposes. Loan amount of Rs. 3,010 cr. has been sanctioned by NCDC to 24 Cooperative Sugar Mills so far.
38. Preference  to  Cooperative  Sugar  Mills  in  purchase  of  ethanol :  Cooperative  Sugar Mills  have  now  been  put  at  par  with  private  companies  for  ethanol  procurement  by Government of India under the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).
39. Reduction in GST on molasses from 28% to 5%: Government has decided to reduce the GST on molasses from 28% to 5% which will enable cooperative sugar mills to earn more profits for its members by selling molasses to distilleries with higher margins.

## E. Three new Multi-State Societies at the National Level

40. New National Multi-State Cooperative Seed Society for certified seeds :  Government has  established  a  new  apex  multi-state  cooperative  seed  society  under  the  MSCS  Act, 2002, namely  Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL)  as an umbrella organization for quality seed cultivation, production and distribution under a single brand. BBSSL has received 8,200 PACS/ cooperative societies applications from 27 States/ UTs including  applications  from  947  PACS/  cooperative  societies  from  the  State  of Andhra Pradesh for membership so far.
41. New  National Multi-State Cooperative Organic Society for organic  farming : Government has established a new apex multi-state cooperative organic society under the MSCS Act, 2002, namely National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) as an umbrella organization  to  produce,  distribute  and  market  certified  and  authentic  organic  products. NCOL has received 2,475 PACS/ cooperative societies applications from 24 States/ UTs including  99  PACS from the  State of Andhra  Pradesh for membership so far.  6 organic products have already been launched by NCOL so far.
42. New  National  Multi-State  Cooperative  Export  Society  for  promoting  exports : Government has established a new apex multi-state cooperative export society under the MSCS Act, 2002, namely National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL) as an umbrella organization to give thrust to exports from cooperative sector. NCEL has received 2,625 PACS/ cooperative societies  applications from 22 States/ UTs including 84 applications

## G.

from PACS/ cooperative societies from the State of Andhra Pradesh for membership so far.  Till  date,  NCEL  has  got  permission  to  export  14.92  LMT  rice  to  16  countries  and 50,000 MT sugar to 2 countries.

## F. Capacity Building in Cooperatives

43. Establishment  of  the  Cooperative  University: Steps  are  being  taken  by  Ministry  of Cooperation  for setting up  of a National  Cooperative  University for  Cooperative education, training, consultancy, research and development and a sustainable and quality supply of trained manpower.
44. Promotion  of  training  and  awareness  through  National  Council  for  Cooperative Training (NCCT) : By increasing its reach, NCCT has conducted 3,287 training programs and provided training to 2,01,507 participants in FY 2022-23.
3. Use of Information Technology for 'Ease of Doing Business'
45. Computerization of the Central Registrar's Office : Central Registrar's office has been computerized to create a digital ecosystem for Multi-State Cooperative Societies, which will assist in processing applications and service requests in a time bound manner.
46. Scheme  for  computerization  of  office  of  RCSs  in  States  and  Union Territories :  To increase 'Ease of doing business' for Cooperative Societies and create a digital ecosystem for transparent paperless regulation in all States/Union Territories, a Centrally Sponsored Project  for  computerization  of  RCS  Offices  has  been  approved  by  the  Government. Grants will be provided for purchase of hardware, development of software, etc.  to the States/ UTs.
47. Computerization  of  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  Banks  (ARDBs) : To strengthen the Long-term Cooperative Credit structure, the project of computerization of 1,851 units of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) has been approved by the Government. NABARD is the implementing agency for the project and will develop a national  level  software  for ARDBs.  Hardware,  support  for  Digitization  of  legacy  data, training to the employees, etc. will be provided under the project.

## H. Other Initiatives

48. New National  Cooperative  Database  for  authentic  and  updated  data  repository :  A database  of  cooperatives  in  the  country  has  been  prepared  with  the  support  of  State Governments to facilitate stakeholders in policy making and implementation of programmes/ schemes related to cooperatives across the country. So far, data of around 7.86 lakh cooperatives has been captured in the database.
49. Formulation  of  New  National  Cooperative  Policy :  A  National level committee comprising  49  experts  and  stakeholders  drawn  from  all  over  the  Country  has  been constituted  to  formulate  the  New  National  Cooperative  Policy  for  enabling  a  vibrant ecosystem to realize the vision of 'Sahakar-se-Samriddhi'.
50. Multi-State  Co-operative  Societies  (Amendment)  Act,  2023 :  Amendment  has  been brought in the MSCS Act, 2002 to strengthen governance, enhance transparency, increase accountability, reform electoral process and incorporate provisions of 97 th Constitutional Amendment in the Multi State Cooperative Societies.
51. Inclusion of Cooperatives as 'buyers' on GeM portal :  Government has permitted the cooperatives to register as 'buyer' on GeM, enabling them to procure goods and services from  nearly  over  67  lakh  vendors  to  facilitate  economical  purchases  and  greater transparency. So far, 559 cooperative societies have been onboarded on GeM as buyers.
52. Expansion  of  National  Cooperative  Development  Corporation  (NCDC)  to  increase its  range  and  depth :  NCDC  has  launched  new  schemes  in  various  sectors  such  as 'Swayamshakti Sahkar' for SHGs;  'Deerghavadhi  Krishak Sahkar' for long term agricultural  credit and 'Dairy  Sahkar' for  dairy. Total financial  assistance of Rs.  41,024 Crores has been disbursed by NCDC in FY 2022-23, which is almost 20% higher than the disbursement of Rs.34,221 crore in 2021-22. Government of India has permitted NCDC to issue bonds worth ₹2000 crore with government guarantee, subject to the adherence of specified  terms  and  conditions.  Further,  NCDC  is  setting  up  sub-offices  in  6  North Eastern  States  -  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Manipur,  Nagaland  and Tripura with the objective of taking various national schemes to the cooperative societies at their doorstep.
53. Financial assistance  by  NCDC for Deep Sea Trawlers :  NCDC is providing financial assistance for projects related to deep sea trawlers in coordination with the Department of Fisheries, Government of India. NCDC has already sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 20.30 crore for purchase of 14 deep sea trawlers for the Fisheries Cooperative Societies of Maharashtra.
54. Refund  to  Investors  of  Sahara  Group  of  Societies :  A  portal  has  been  launched  for making payments to the genuine depositors of the cooperative societies of Sahara Group in a transparent manner. Disbursement have already started after proper identification and submission of proof of their deposits and claims.

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