Lok Sabha Question No. 500 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-06
Subject: Primary Agricultural Cooperatives Societies (PACS)
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Nayab Singh, Dileshwar Kamait, Guman Singh Damor, Gyaneshwar Patil, Harish Dwivedi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 500 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/02/2024

## Primary Agricultural Cooperatives Societies (PACS)

## 500. SHRI NAYAB SINGH:

SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR:

SHRI GYANESHWAR PATIL:

SHRI HARISH DWIVEDI:

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

(a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  economically  strengthen  Primary  Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS);

(b) the current status of onboarding PACS as Common Service Centres (CSCs) in the country including Bihar;

(c) whether the Government has approved a decentralised grain storage programme involving PACSs, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(d) the total amount of funds allocated to the State of Bihar for the schemes laid down by the Ministry;

(e) whether the Government proposes to entrust the PACS with tasks such as distribution of ration,  electricity  bill  payment  centres  to  make  them  more useful for  people  and  if  so,  the details thereof; and

(f)  the  various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  the  economic  condition  of farmers through cooperatives during the last five years?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (f): The Government has taken several initiatives to economically strengthen Primary Agricultural  Credit  Societies  (PACS),  including  Computerization  of  PACS  which  entails bringing  63,000  functional  PACS  onto  an  ERP  (Enterprise  Resource  Planning)  based common national software which will help in improving their operational efficiency, ensuring speedy disbursal of loans, lowering of transaction costs and increasing transparency; Model Byelaws for PACS which will enable them to diversify their business by undertaking more than  25  economic  activities,  including  dairy,  fishery,  floriculture,  setting  up  godowns, procurement  of  foodgrains,  fertilizers,  seeds,  LPG/CNG/Petrol/Diesel  distributorship,  etc.; PACS  to  function  as  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samriddhi  Kendras  providing  fertilizers, pesticides  and  various  other  agri  inputs  to  farmers  at  a  single  shop;  PACS  to  operate  as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras to ensure availability of generic medicines to rural  citizens  at  affordable  prices;  PACS  to  function  as  Common  Service  Centre  (CSC) providing more than 300 e-services to rural citizens of the country, etc.

In  order  to  enable  PACS  to  function  as  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  e-services  such  as  banking,  insurance,  Aadhar  enrolment/  updation,  health services,  legal  services,  payment  of  electricity  bill,  etc.  being  provided  by  CSCs  to  rural citizens of the country. So far, 30,647 PACS including 2,423 PACS in the State of Bihar have started functioning as CSC.

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 has been rolled out as a Pilot Project in different States/ UTs of the country. 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., under which PACS across the country, including from the State of Bihar, can avail  subsidies and interest  subvention  benefits for construction of godowns/storage facilities  and setting up of other agri infrastructure. Further, NABARD is also extending financial support to PACS by refinancing  them  at  highly  subsidized  rates  of  around  1  percent,  after  incorporating  the benefits of 3% interest subvention under AIF scheme for projects up to Rs. 2 Crore.

The Pilot  Project  is  being  implemented by  National Cooperative  Development Corporation (NCDC)  with  the support of  NABARD,  Food  Corporation  of  India (FCI), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS), National Buildings  Construction  Corporation  (NBCC),  etc.  in  different  States/  UTs.  Consultancy support is also being extended to PACS through these agencies under the project.

In this regard, an MoU has 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. This will facilitate hiring of godowns constructed at PACS  level by  FCI, integration  of  these  godowns  with  the supply chain  of  foodgrains,  thereby  providing  requisite  forward  and  backward  market  linkages  to PACS. Also, an MoU has been signed between Ministry of Cooperation (GoI), Department of Consumer Affairs (GOI), NABARD,  NCDC  and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) for facilitating NCCF in carrying out construction and hiring of warehouses to be constructed at PACS level under this project.

Further,  State  Agencies  have  been  requested  to  provide  all  necessary  support  to  PACS including  providing  them  PDS  license  which  will  enable  them  to  distribute  ration  to  the citizens in rural areas of the country.

The amount of funds released/ sanctioned to the  State of Bihar for various schemes of the Ministry are as follows:

1. An  amount  of  Rs.  32.95  crores  has  been  released  to  the  State  for  hardware procurement,  digitization  of  legacy  data  and  establishing  support  system  under  the centrally sponsored project for Computerization of PACS.
2. NCDC,  a  statutory  corporation  under  the  administrative  control  of  Ministry  of Cooperation, has disbursed an amount of Rs. 11,206.27 crores since its inception, to the State of Bihar under various schemes for cooperative sector.

The details of various other steps taken by the Government to realize the vision of 'Sahkarse-Samriddhi' including strengthening the economic conditions of farmers through cooperatives are enclosed at Annexure .

*****

## Brief of 54 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. So far, 32 States/ UTs have adopted Model Byelaws or their existing byelaws are in line with Model Byelaws.
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  ERP onboarding has already started in 15,783 PACS in 27 States/ UTs so far.
3. Establishing  New  Multipurpose  PACS/  Dairy/  Fishery  Cooperatives  in  uncovered Panchayats :  The  plan  for  establishing  new  multipurpose  PACS  or  primary  dairy/ fisheries  cooperatives  covering  all  the  Panchayats/  villages  in  the  next  five  years,  with support of NABARD, NDDB, NFDB, NCDC and other National level Federations has been  approved  by  the  Government.  As  reported  by  the  States/  UTs,  the  process  for registering more than 9,000 new PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery cooperative societies 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 centers, primary processing  units  and  other  agri  infrastructure  for  grain  storage  at  PACS  level,  through convergence of various GOI schemes, including 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.  27  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 more than 2,000 PACS for creation of storage capacity under the Pilot Project.
5. PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) for better access to e-services :  An MoU has  been  signed  between  Ministry  of  Cooperation,  MeitY,  NABARD  and  CSC  eGovernance  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,  30,647  PACS  have  started  providing  CSC services to rural citizens which will also result in increase in income of these PACS.
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.  Apart  from  this,  672  FPOs  have  been  formed  in  the cooperative sector by NCDC. This will be helpful in providing farmers with necessary market linkages 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 240  PACS from 26  States/UTs  have applied  online  for  retail  petrol/  diesel  outlets.  As informed by OMCs, 39 PACS have been selected so far.
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  4  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. From  three  States/ Union  Territories,  a  total  of  9  PACS  have  submitted  online applications.
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 ease the access to generic medicines for rural citizens. So far, 4,629 PACS/ cooperative societies  have  applied  online  for  PM  Janaushadhi  Kendras,  out  of  which  2,475  PACS have  been  given  initial  approval.  Out  of  these  2,475  PACS,  617  have  received  drug licences  from  State  Drug  Controllers  which  are  ready  to  function  as  Jan  Aushadhi 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, 35,293 PACS are functioning as PMKSK.

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  deep  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,  1,630  PACS  have  been  identified/  selected  by  14  States/  UTs  to provide O&M services at Panchayat/ Village level.
14. Micro-ATMs to Bank Mitra Cooperative Societies for providing doorstep 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. This initiative is now  being implemented in all the Districts of the State 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 to enable them to carry out other financial transactions. So far, 1,23,685 Rupay KCC have been distributed  in  Panchmahal  and  Banaskantha  Districts  of  Gujarat.  This  initiative  is now being implemented in all the Districts of the State of Gujarat.
16. Formation of Fish Farmer Producer Organization (FFPO) : In order to provide market linkage  and  processing  facilities  to  fishermen,  NCDC  has  registered 69  FFPOs  in  the initial phase. In addition, Department of Fisheries, Government of India has allocated the work of converting 1000 existing 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 UCBs. Account holders of 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 the process for settlement with borrowers, along with technical writeoff.
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.
22. Individual  housing  loan  limit  more  than  doubled  by  RBI  for  Rural  and  Urban Cooperative Banks:
- a. Housing loan limit of Urban Cooperative Banks has 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  Cooperative  Banks  will  now  be  able  to  lend  to  commercial  real  estate/ residential housing sector, thereby diversifying their business : This will not only help Rural Cooperative Banks to diversify their business, but will benefit Housing cooperative 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  through biometrics.
25. Non-scheduled UCBs, StCBs and DCCBs notified as Member Lending Institutions (MLIs)  in  CGTMSE  Scheme  to  increase  the  share  of  cooperatives  in  lending: 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 cooperative banks now.
26. Notification of Scheduling norms for including Urban Cooperative 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 operational 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  their liquidity.

## D. Revival of Cooperative Sugar Mills

35. Relief  from  Income  Tax  to  Sugar  Cooperative  Mills :  Government  has  issued  a clarification that cooperative sugar 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 them a relief of more than Rs.10,000 crore.
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. 3,310.57 cr. has been sanctioned by NCDC to 25 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 their members by selling molasses to distilleries with higher margins.

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

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. Wheat,  mustard, and  pulses  (gram,  pea)  breeder  seeds  have  been  planted  across  1,750 acres. Efforts are underway to cultivate foundation/ certified seeds for groundnut, paddy, maize,  and  millet.  So  far,  13,985  PACS/  Cooperative  Societies  from  33  States/  Union Territories have submitted membership applications.
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  membership  applications  from  5,102  PACS/  cooperative societies from 26 States/ UTs so far. Six organic products have been launched by NCOL under 'Bharat Organics' brand.
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 membership applications from 6,499 PACS/ cooperative societies from 27 States/ UTs so far.  Till  date,  NCEL  has  got  permission  to  export  23.9  LMT  rice  to  20  countries  and 50,000 MT sugar to 2 countries.

## F. Capacity Building in Cooperatives

43. 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.
44. Establishment  of  the  Cooperative  University: Cabinet  Note  has  been  prepared  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.

## 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  the  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. So far, proposals from 33 States/ UTs have been received for the project, out of which 30 have been sanctioned.
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)  spread  across  13 States/  Union  Territories  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.  So far, proposals received from 8 States have been sanctioned 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 8.02 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 cooperatives to register as 'buyer' on GeM, enabling them to procure goods and services from 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. 41,031 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.  Disbursements  have  already  started  after  proper  identification and submission of proof of their deposits and claims.

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