Lok Sabha Question No. 1542 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-29
Subject: Strengthening of PACS
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Shri Nalin Soren

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1542 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 th  JULY 2025

## Strengthening of PACS

## †1542. Shri Nalin Soren:

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

- (a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  the  Primary  Agricultural  Credit Societies (PACS) financially;
- (b) the current status of incorporating PACS as Common Service Centres (CSCs); and
- (c) whether the Government has approved the Decentralized Grain Storage Programme involving PACS, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b)   Since the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation in July 2021, the Government  of  India  has  taken  several  transformative  steps  to  strengthen  Primary Agricultural  Credit  Societies  (PACS),  aiming  to  enhance  their  economic  viability, transparency and financial sustainability. The major initiatives taken by the Government to strengthen PACS includes the following-
- Model Byelaws for PACS have been prepared, enabling PACS to undertake more than 25  business  activities, including dairy, fishery,  setting  up  godowns, procurement of foodgrains, fertilizers, seeds, LPG/CNG/Petrol/Diesel distributorship, short-term & long-term credit, custom hiring centers, Fair Price Shops (FPS), community irrigation, Common Service Centre, etc.
- Strengthening  of  PACS  through  Computerization :    In  order  to  strengthen PACS, project for Computerization of functional PACS was approved with a total financial outlay of ₹2,516 Crore which has been increased to ₹2,925.39 crores 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. This initiative  helps  in  improving  the operational efficiency of PACS, ensuring speedy disbursal of loans, lowering of transaction costs, increasing transparency and increasing farmers' trustworthiness in PACS operations.

- Establishing  New  Multipurpose  PACS/  Dairy/  Fishery  Cooperatives :  The Government  on  15.2.2023,  approved  the  Plan  for  strengthening  cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. The Plan entails establishment of 2 lakh new multipurpose PACS (M-PACS), Dairy, Fishery Cooperative Societies covering all the Panchayats/ villages in the country over a period  of  five  years,  through  convergence  of  various  existing  GOI  schemes, including Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), etc, with  the  support  of  National  Bank  for  Agricultural  and  Rural  Development (NABARD), National  Dairy  Development  Board  (NDDB),  National  Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and State Governments.
- World's  Largest  Decentralized  Grain  Storage  Plan  in  Cooperative  sector : Government has  approved  the  plan  to  create  godowns  for  food  grain  storage, custom hiring centers, primary processing units and other agri-infrastructure at PACS level, through convergence of various existing schemes of Government of India  (GOI),  including  Agricultural  Infrastructure  Fund  (AIF),  Agricultural Marketing  Infrastructure  (AMI),  Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), etc. Under the pilot project of the plan, construction of godowns in 11 PACS of 11 States has been completed.
- PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) to deliver more than 300 e-services such  as  banking,  insurance,  electricity  bill  payments,  health  services,  legal services, etc. to rural citizens; etc. So far, 47,918 PACS have started providing CSC  services  to  rural  citizens  with  total  transactions  worth  Rs.  96.61  crores carried out by these PACS-CSCs.
- PACS as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK) providing fertilizers, pesticides and various other agri inputs/services to farmers under one roof.
- PACS as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) to ensure availability of quality generic medicines to rural citizens at affordable prices.
- PACS made eligible 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.
- PACS given permission to convert bulk consumer petrol pumps into retail outlets : The existing bulk consumer licensee PACS have been given a one-time option by Oil Marketing Companies to convert into retail outlets.
- PACS made eligible for LPG Distributorship for diversifying its activities : This will give PACS an option to increase their economic activities and diversify their source of revenue.
- PACS have been made eligible to carry out Operations & Maintenance (O&M) under rural piped water supply schemes .

(c)  In order to create decentralized storage capacity at PACS level, the Government has approved the World's largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector on 31.05.2023. It entails creation of warehouses, custom hiring centers, primary processing units and other agri-infrastructure for grain storage at PACS level, through convergence of various existing Government of India schemes, including  Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME), etc. Under the pilot project of the Plan, construction of godowns has been completed in 11 PACS of 11 States. Further, more than 500 PACS have been identified for construction of godowns under the Project out of which 24 godowns in the State of Rajasthan have been completed and inaugurated on 17.07.2025.

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