Lok Sabha Question No. 1468 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-12
Subject: Functioning of PACS
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Vinod Kumar Sonkar, (Dr.) Ram Shankar Katheria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1468 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12/12/2023

## Functioning of PACS

## † 1468. SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR: DR. RAM SHANKAR KATHERIA:

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

(a) whether any action plan has been formulated by the Government for taking initiative of  setting  up  multi-purpose  Primary  Agricultural  Credit  Society  (PACS),  dairy,  fishery cooperative societies in uncovered panchayats/ villages and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the manner in which the said initiative is likely to assist PACS in bringing diversity in their business activities;

(c) the  business  activities  in  which  the  Primary  Cooperative  Societies are  likely  to  get engaged through the said initiative of the Ministry of Cooperation;

- (d) the details of the benefits that farmers are likely to get from the said initiatives; and

(e) the manner in which the PACS are likely to raise their income through this initiative of the Government?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (e):  Yes,  Sir.Government  on  15.02.2023,  has  approved  the  Plan  for  strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. The Plan envisages  establishment  of  new  multipurpose  PACS  or  primary  dairy/  fishery  cooperative societies in  the  uncovered Panchayat/  village of  the country  in  the next five years,  through convergence  of  various  GOI  schemes,  includingAgriculture  Infrastructure  Fund  (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme  (PMFME),  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Sampada  Yojana  (PMKSY)  and  Mission  for Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH),  Dairy  Infrastructure  Development  Fund (DIDF), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Fisheries & Aquaculture Infrastructure Fund (FIDF).Thisplan is being implemented  by  NCDC  in  collaboration  with  NABARD,  NDDB,  NFDB,  National  Level Cooperative Federations and State Governments.As reported by the States/ UTs, the process for registering 9,961 new PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery cooperative societies in 23 States/ UTs is in various stages.

In  order  to  increase  the  viability  and  diversify  the  activities  of  PACS,  Government,  in consultation with all the stakeholders has prepared and circulated Model Byelaws for PACS to all the States/ UTs on 5th January, 2023 for their adoption by PACS after making suitable changes as per respective State Cooperative Acts.These will enable PACS to diversify their business activities by undertaking more than 25 business activities, including dairy, fishery, floriculture, setting up godowns, procurement of foodgrains, fertilizers, seeds, LPG/CNG/Petrol/Diesel  distributorship,  common  service  centers,  Fair  Price  Shops  (FPS), Business  Correspondent  activities,  etc.  So  far,  31  States/  UTs  have  adopted  these  Model Byelaws.  New  multipurpose  PACS  are  being  established  in  accordance  with  these  Model Byelaws, which will provide them ample opportunities in diverse business activities.

In  addition  to  above,  Ministry  of  Cooperation  has  taken  several  other  initiatives  for strengthening the income of PACS, which are enclosed at Annexure. These initiatives will help PACS in taking up economically viable business activities and enrich them with various revenue streams, thereby helping them to raise their income.

All  these  initiatives  will  provide  our  farmer  members  all  over  the  country  with  requisite forward and backward linkages to market their produce and realise better prices, obtain credit and other services at the Panchayat/ village level itself, generate multiple and stable revenue streams for them, thus providing them sustainable livelihood.

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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 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 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) andNational 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.
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 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 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, guidelineshavebeen  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  BharatiyaJan  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.
11. PACS  as  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samriddhi  Kendras  (PMKSK): Government  is promoting PACS to operate PMKSK for ensuring easy accessibility of fertilizer & related servicesto farmers in the country. As per the information shared by States/ UTs, 28,648 PACS 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  hasregistered  69 FFPOs  in  the  initial  phase.  Department  of  Fisheries,  Government  of  India  has  further allocated conversion of 1000  existing fisheries cooperative societies intoFFPOsto NCDC,withan approved outlayof Rs225.50 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: UCBsthat  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 earlierrate of upto 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 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  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 togive thrust to exports from cooperative sector. NCEL has received 2,625 PACS/ cooperative societies applications from 22 States/ UTs 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 Cooperativeeducation, 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.

## G. 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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