Lok Sabha Question No. 910 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-25
Subject: Sahkar Se Samriddhi Scheme
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Anumula Revanth Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 910 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25/07/2023

## Sahkar Se Samriddhi Scheme

## 910. SHRI ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY:

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

- (a) the number and percentage of cooperative societies covered/benefited under the Sahkar se Samriddhi Scheme in the last two years and the current year, State/UT-wise and sector-wise;
- (b) the total funds, allocated, utilized and disbursed for the scheme during the last two years and the current year;
- (c) the action taken by the Government to ensure the quality, relevance and accessibility of support and incentive provided under the above Scheme; and
- (d) the details of steps taken by the Government to evaluate the impact of the above Scheme on enhancing the performance, productivity and profitability of cooperative societies?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d): In order to realize the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi', strengthening cooperative movement in the country, deepening its reach to the grassroots and to enhance the performance, productivity and profitability of cooperative societies, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Cooperation since its inception, such as:
- A. Making Primary Cooperatives transparent and economically vibrant (14 initiatives)
1. Model  Bye-Laws  for  PACS  making  them  multipurpose,  multidimensional  and transparent entities :  Prepared and circulated to all the States/ UTs for adoption as per their  respective  State  Cooperatives  Act  to  enable  PACS  to  undertake  more  than  25 business activities. Model byelaws have been adopted by 27 States/ UTs.
2. Strengthening of PACS through Computerization :  Process to onboard 63,000 PACS on an ERP based national software, with an outlay of ₹2,516 Crore started.
3. New Multipurpose PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery Cooperatives in uncovered Panchayats : A plan  has  been  approved  to  set  up  2  lakh  new  multi-purpose  PACS  or  primary  dairy/ fisheries cooperatives covering every Panchayat/ village in the next five years.
4. World's Largest Decentralized Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector to ensure food security :  Pilot  Project  is  under implementation to create godowns and other agriinfra for grain storage at PACS level.
5. PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) for better access to e-services : More than 17,000  PACS  onboarded  as  CSC  to  improve  their  viability,  provide  e-services  and generate employment in rural areas.
6. Formation of new Farmer Producer Organization (FPOs) by PACS : 1,100 additional FPOs to be formed by PACS in those blocks where FPOs have not yet been formed or the blocks are not covered by any implementing agency.
7. PACS given priority for Retail Petrol/ diesel outlets : PACS have been included in the Combined Category 2 (CC2) for allotment of retail petrol/ diesel outlets. Existing PACS with wholesale petrol pump license permitted to convert into retail outlets.
8. PACS eligible for LPG Distributorship for diversifying its activities : PACS have now been allowed to apply for LPG Distributorships.
9. PACS as Jan Aushadhi Kendra for improving access to generic medicines at rural level : PACS have been allowed to operate Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras which will provide additional income source to them.
10. PACS  as  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samriddhi  Kendras  (PMKSK)  for  fertilizer distribution: PACS  have been allowed to operate PMKSK  for  ensuring easy accessibility of fertilizer & related services to farmers in the country.
11. Convergence of PM-KUSUM at PACS level for energy security : Farmers associated with PACS can adopt solar agricultural water pumps and install photovoltaic modules in their farms.
12. PACS to carry out O&M of rural piped water supply schemes (PWS) : PACS have been allowed to carry out the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) of PWS in rural areas.
13. Micro-ATMs to Bank Mitra Cooperative Societies for providing doorsteps financial services : Micro-ATMs now being given to cooperative societies like Dairy, Fisheries by the Cooperative Banks.
14. Rupay Kisan  Credit  Card  to  Members  of  Milk  Cooperatives :  Rupay  Kisan  Credit Cards  being  provided  to  the  members  of  cooperatives  through  Cooperative  Banks  for providing credit at comparatively lower interest rates.

## B. Strengthening the Urban and Rural Cooperative Banks (9 initiatives)

15. UCBs have now been allowed to open new branches to expand their business.
16. UCBs have been allowed by RBI to offer doorstep services to their customers.
17. Cooperative Banks have been allowed to make one-time settlement of outstanding loans, like Commercial Banks.
18. Time limit increased to achieve Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets given to UCBs.
19. A Nodal Officer designated in RBI for regular interaction with UCBs.
20. Individual  housing  loan  limit  more  than  doubled  by  RBI  for  Rural  and  Urban  Cooperative Banks.
21. Rural Co-operative Banks will now be able to lend to commercial real estate/ residential housing sector, thereby diversifying their business.
22. License  fee  for  onboarding  Cooperative  Banks  to  'Aadhaar  Enabled  Payment  System' (AePS) has been reduced by linking it to the number of transactions.
23. Non-scheduled  UCBs,  StCBs  and  DCCBs  notified  as  Member  Lending  Institutions (MLIs) in CGTMSE Scheme to increase share of cooperatives in lending.

## C. Relief to Cooperative Societies in Income Tax Act (6 initiatives)

24. Surcharge reduced from 12 % to 7% for co-operative societies having income between Rs. 1 to 10 Cr.
25. MAT reduced for cooperatives from 18.5% to 15%.
26. A clarification has been issued to remove difficulties in cash transactions by cooperatives under Section 269ST of IT Act.
27. A flat  lower tax rate of 15% will be charged, compared with current rate of upto 30% plus surcharge, for new cooperatives commencing manufacturing activities till March 31, 2024.
28. Limit increased from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 2 lakh per member for deposits and loans in cash by PACS and PCARDBs.
29. Increase in cash withdrawal limit for cooperatives from Rs. 1 Crore to Rs. 3 Crore, per annum, without being subjected to TDS.

## D. Revival of Cooperative Sugar Mills (4 initiatives)

30. Relief from Income Tax to Sugar Cooperative Mills : Sugar cooperative mills not to be subjected to additional income tax for paying higher sugarcane prices to farmers up to Fair and Remunerative or State Advised Price.
31. Resolution of decades old pending issues related to Income  Tax  of Sugar Cooperative Mills : Sugar cooperatives allowed to claim as expenditure their payments to sugarcane  farmers  for  the  period  prior  to  assessment  year  2016-17,  giving  a  relief  of nearly Rs. 10,000 crores.
32. Rs.  10,000  crore  loan  scheme  launched  by  NCDC  for  strengthening  of  Sugar Cooperative  Mills :  Scheme  can  be  used  for  setting  up  ethanol  plants  or  cogeneration plants or for working capital or for all three purposes.
33. Preference  to  Cooperative  Sugar  Mills  in  purchase  of  ethanol :  Cooperative  Sugar Mills will be put at par with private companies for ethanol procurement by Government of India under the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).

## E. Three new Multi-State Societies at the National Level (3 initiatives)

34. New National Multi-State Cooperative Seed Society for certified seeds :  New apex multistate cooperative seed society established under the MSCS Act, 2002 as umbrella organization for quality seed cultivation, production and distribution under a single brand.
35. New National  Multi-State  Cooperative  Organic  Society  for  organic  farming :  New  apex multi-state  cooperative  organic  society  established  under  the  MSCS  Act,  2002  as  umbrella organization to produce, distribute and market certified and authentic organic products.
36. New National Multi-State Cooperative Export Society for promoting exports :  New apex multi-state  cooperative  export  society  established  under  the  MSCS  Act,  2002  as  umbrella organization to give thrust to exports from cooperative sector.

## F. Capacity Building in Cooperatives (3 initiatives)

37. Establishment  of  the  World's  Largest  Cooperative  University: National  Cooperative University  being  established  for  Cooperative  education,  training,  consultancy,  research  and development and a sustainable and quality supply of trained manpower.
38. New  Scheme  of  Cooperative  Education  and  Training :  To  strengthen  the  cooperative movement,  build  capacity  of  faculty  of  VAMNICOM,  NCCT  and  JCTC,  promote  quality research and studies on important areas of Cooperative sector, etc.
39. Promotion of training and awareness through National Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT) :  NCCT conducted 3,287 training programs and provided training to about 2,01,507 participants in FY 2022-23.

## G. Use of Information Technology for 'Ease of Doing Business' (2 initiatives)

40. Computerization  to  strengthen  the  Central  Registrar's  Office :  This  will  create  a  digital ecosystem for Multi-State Cooperative Societies, which will assist in processing applications and service requests in a time bound manner.
41. 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.

## H. Other Initiatives (7 initiatives)

42. New  National  Cooperative  Database  for  authentic  and  updated  data  repository : Preparation of a database of cooperatives in the country started to facilitate stakeholders in policy making and implementation.
43. Formulation  of  New  National  Cooperative  Policy :  A  National  level  committee comprising 49 experts and stakeholders drawn from all over the Country constituted to
3. formulate  the  New  National  Cooperative  Policy  to  create  an  enabling  ecosystem  to realize the vision of 'Sahakar-se-Samriddhi'.
44. Multi-State  Co-operative  Societies  (Amendment)  Bill,  2022 :  Bill  introduced  in  the Parliament to amend the MSCS Act, 2002 to incorporate provisions of 97 th Constitutional Amendment, strengthen  governance,  enhance  transparency,  increase  accountability  and reform electoral process in the Multi State Cooperative Societies.
45. Inclusion  of  Cooperatives  as  'buyers'  on  GeM  portal :    Cooperatives  permitted  to register as 'buyer' on GeM, enabling them to procure goods and services from nearly 40 lakh vendors to facilitate economical purchases and greater transparency.
46. Expansion of National Cooperative Development Corporation to increase its range and depth : New schemes for cooperatives launched by NCDC in various sectors such as 'Swayamshakti  Sahkar' for  SHG;  'Deerghavadhi  Krishak Sahkar' for long term agricultural  credit;  'Dairy  Sahkar'  for  dairy  and  'Neel  Sahkar'  for  fisheries.  Total financial assistance of Rs. 41,024 Crores disbursed by NCDC in FY 2022-23.
47. Computerization  of  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  Banks  (ARDBs) :  To strengthen the Long-term Cooperative Credit structure, the project of computerization of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) is being undertaken.
48. Refund  to  Investors  of  Sahara  Group  of  Societies :  A  portal  has  been  launched  for making payments to the bona fide depositors of the cooperative societies of Sahara Group in  a  transparent  manner  after  proper  identification  and  submission  of  proof  of  their deposits and claims.

Details of funds released during the last two years in various schemes/project, are as under:

1. Computerization of PACS Project: The project was approved by the Government of India  on  29 th June,  2022  for  computerization  of  63,000  functional  Primary  Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) with a total financial outlay of ₹2,516 Cr. Under the project Rs. 439.67 Cr. has been released to States/UTs for hardware procurement, digitization and establishment of support system.  Further, Rs. 100 Cr. has been released to NABARD for the  development  of  software.  A  total  of  60,685  PACS  have  been  sanctioned  for computerization in 28 States/ UTs.
2. Central  Sector  Integrated  Scheme  on  Agricultural  Cooperation  (CSISAC): Rs. 341.67 Cr. was released in the financial year 2021-22 and Rs. 376.93 Cr. was released in the financial year 2022-23 under the CSISAC scheme.

In  order to  evaluate the  impact of the schemes and initiatives taken  by the Ministry  of Cooperation,  regular  follow  up  meetings  through  Video  Conferencing  are  held  with  the  State Governments and Union Territory Administrations and feedbacks taken and analyzed for course correction if any.  Regular communications  are  also sent by the Ministry to the State Governments at various levels, from Apex to the level of District Cooperative Registrar. Further, meetings are held with other Ministries of Government of India for coordination on convergence of their schemes and removal of difficulties so as to enhance the performance, productivity and profitability of cooperative societies.

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