Lok Sabha Question No. 1396 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-29
Subject: Digitization Programs for All Cooperatives
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Ms. Mahua Moitra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 th  July, 2025

## Digitization Programs for All Cooperatives

## 1396. Ms Mahua Moitra:

Will the Minister of Cooperation ( सहकारिता मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

the details of the digitization programs for all the cooperatives under the Ministry?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

(i) Computerization of PACS Project:Government of India is implementing this Project of Computerization of functional PACS with a total financial outlay of ₹2,516 Crore which has now been increased upto 2925.39 Crore which entails bringing all the functional PACS onto an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) based common national  software,  linking  them  with  NABARD through State Cooperative Banks (StCBs)  and  District  Central  Cooperative  Banks  (DCCBs).  This  common  ERP software is provided to all PACS in the project, across the country, to capture data on all functionalities of PACS, both credit and non-credit. This software is customizable for state-specific needs.

The  ERP-based  common  national  software  enhances  the  efficiency  of  PACS operations  through  a  Common  Accounting  System  (CAS)  and  Management Information System (MIS). Additionally, it strengthens governance and transparency, resulting  in  faster  loan  disbursal,  reduced  transaction  costs,  minimized  payment imbalances, and seamless accounting with DCCBs and StCBs. Furthermore, training and necessary handholding support provided by NABARD ensures that small and marginal farmers, including those who may not be digitally literate, benefit equally from digitalization.

A comprehensive ERP solution integrates multiple functionalities, including membership management, financial services  such  as  deposits  and  lending  (shortterm, medium-term, and long-term), procurement, processing units, Public

Distribution System (PDS), business planning, warehousing, merchandising, borrowings, asset management, and human resource management. Additionally, it has  provision  to  incorporate  RuPay  and  Kisan  Credit  Card  (KCC)/  database integrations to facilitate seamless financial transactions for PACS members. A total amount of ₹759.36 crore has been released to the States/UTs and ₹165.92 crore to NABARD under this  Project  as  a  Central  Government  Share.  The  status  of  this project is as at Annexure 'A'.

(ii) Further, Government of India is implementing a Centrally Sponsored project of Strengthening of Cooperatives through IT Interventions. This project has two sub-projects:-

- a) Computerization  of Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  Bank(ARDB): Subproject of Computerization of Agriculture and Rural Development Bank has been approved by the Central Government on 06.10.2023, in which 1851 units of State Cooperative  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  Bank(SCARDB)  &  Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank(PCARDB) in 13 States were included in the project with the total outlay of Rs. 119.40 Crore. As of now, proposals from two States West Bengal and Kerala have not been received. Recently, Jammu and Kashmir has opted out of the project due to their administrative reasons. As of now, only 10 states are the part of this project, the details and updated status of the project is at Annexure 'B' .
- b) Computerization of Office  of  Registrar  of  Cooperative  Societies(RCS)  of States/UTs:Sub-project  of  Computerization  of  RCS  offices  in  States/Union Territories  has  been  approved  by  the  Central  Government  on  06.10.2023  with  a budgetary outlay of Rs.94.59 crore for three years w.e.f. 2023-24. This is a part of the umbrella project of 'Strengthening Cooperatives Through IT Interventions' of the Ministry. The project aims to enhance the ease of doing business for Cooperative Societies  and  create  a  digital  ecosystem  for  transparent  paperless  interaction  of cooperative  societies  with  the  RCS  offices  in  all  States/Union  Territories.  The objectives of the project are to enhance the ease of doing business for Cooperative Societies and create a digital ecosystem for transparent & paperless transactions of cooperative societies with the RCS offices of States/Union Territories. The software developed under this project will be as per the Cooperative Acts of the respective States/UTs. During the financial years 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 (up to 30 th  June 2025), 35 States/UTs have submitted their proposals, and Rs 19.73 crore has been released as the Government of India share to States/UTs.

## (iii) New  National  Cooperative  Database  for  authentic  and  updated  data repository:

A comprehensive database of cooperatives in the country has been developed 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, the database includes data on around 8.4 lakh cooperatives from 30 different sectors, involving approximately 32 crore members.

- (i) Cooperative  Ranking  Framework: The  Government  launched  the  Cooperative Ranking Framework on 24th January 2025 to assess and rank cooperatives Statewise  and  sector-wise.  This  ranking  framework  enables  State  RCS  to  assess Cooperative  Societies'  performance  based  on  key  parameters,  including  audit compliance, operational activities, financial performance, infrastructure, and basic identity  information.  The  RCS  of  the  States/  UTs  can  generate  rankings  of Cooperative  Societies,  initially  of  7  major  sectors  namely  PACS,  Dairy,  Fishery, Urban Cooperative Banks, Housing, Credit and Thrift, and Khadi and Gram Udyog through NCD portal. This ranking system aims to enhance transparency, reliability and competitiveness among cooperative societies, ultimately fostering their growth. Furthermore, top-performing cooperative societies in each sector will be recognized and honoured by the Ministry of Cooperation and respective State/ UT authorities, aligning with the objectives of the International Year of Cooperatives.
- (ii) Facility for States / UTs to fetch data through API (Application Programming Interface) from NCD portal: The Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) has successfully completed the development of a standard API(Application Programming Interface) for pushing entire data of cooperative societies of the State from NCD portal to the States / UTs. A detailed Standard API Specification Document, database schema and State-specific access key for secure API access have been shared with all State/UT Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) offices on 27.05.2025. These documents aim  to  facilitate  the  integration  of  the  State/UT  RCS  applications  with  the  NCD portal, ensuring that data updates on the NCD portal occur automatically and in realtime via API-based integration. As per the integration plan, it is also essential for States/UTs to develop a reverse/pull API at their end to fetch the relevant data from the NCD portal into their local systems / RCS portals. This two-way integration will ensure synchronization of cooperative data across platforms.

## PACS Computerization Project Status

| S. No   | States           | Approved PACS   | ERPOnboarded   |
|---------|------------------|-----------------|----------------|
| 1.      | Maharashtra      | 12,000          | 11,954         |
| 2.      | Rajasthan        | 7,468           | 5,900          |
| 3.      | Gujarat          | 5,754           | 5,627          |
| 4.      | Uttar Pradesh    | 5,686           | 3,048          |
| 5.      | Karnataka        | 5,682           | 3,765          |
| 6.      | Madhya Pradesh   | 5,188           | 4,428          |
| 7.      | Tamil Nadu       | 4,532           | 4,531          |
| 8.      | Bihar            | 4,495           | 4,460          |
| 9.      | West Bengal      | 4,167           | 3,145          |
| 10.     | Punjab           | 3,482           | 3,408          |
| 11.     | Odisha*          | 2,711           | -              |
| 12.     | Andhra Pradesh   | 2,037           | 2,021          |
| 13.     | Chhattisgarh     | 2,028           | 2,028          |
| 14.     | Himachal Pradesh | 1,789           | 965            |
| 15.     | Jharkhand        | 2,797           | 1,414          |
| 16.     | Haryana          | 710             | 609            |
| 17.     | Uttarakhand      | 670             | 670            |
| 18.     | Assam            | 583             | 579            |
| 19.     | J&K              | 537             | 536            |
| 20.     | Tripura          | 268             | 207            |
| 21.     | Manipur          | 232             | 175            |
| 22.     | Nagaland         | 231             | 64             |
| 23.     | Meghalaya        | 112             | 99             |
| 24.     | Sikkim           | 107             | 103            |
| 25.     | Goa              | 58              | 45             |
| 26.     | ANI              | 46              | 46             |
| 27.     | Puducherry       | 45              | 43             |
| 28.     | Mizoram          | 49              | 25             |
| 29.     | Arunachal        | 14              | 11             |
| 30.     | Ladakh           | 10              | 10             |
| 31.     | DNH&DD           | 4               | 4              |
| Total   | Total            | 73,492          | 59,920         |

*Odisha has recently joined this project

## Annexure 'B'

Computerization of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks Project Status

| S.No   | State/UTs        |   Sanctioned ARDB Units |   Hardware Delivered |   Total Fund released (Cr) |
|--------|------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|----------------------------|
| 1.     | Uttar Pradesh    |                     342 |                    0 |                       1.27 |
| 2.     | Tamil Nadu       |                     214 |                  471 |                       1.49 |
| 3.     | Karnataka        |                     207 |                  467 |                       0.8  |
| 4.     | Gujarat          |                     195 |                    0 |                       0.82 |
| 5.     | Rajasthan        |                      39 |                    0 |                       0.67 |
| 6.     | Punjab           |                      90 |                    0 |                       0.47 |
| 7.     | Haryana          |                      20 |                    0 |                       0.76 |
| 8.     | Himachal Pradesh |                      57 |                  202 |                       0.56 |
| 9.     | Tripura          |                       6 |                    0 |                       0.04 |
| 10.    | Puducherry       |                       2 |                    4 |                       0.04 |
|        | Total            |                    1172 |                 1144 |                       7.18 |