cara ) of 4 % and above. the revival package also helped in this regard. i am happy to share with you that within a period of last five months, we have issued license to 8 stcbs and 105 ccbs. however, 9 state co - operative banks and 191 central co - operative banks still remain unlicensed. with recapitalization of these institutions, many of them would be eligible for a license. all co - operative banks should endeavour to become eligible to get a license before march 2012. financial inclusion and co - operatives 9. the financial inclusion agenda being pursued vigorously by the government of india and reserve bank of india cannot be accomplished without the involvement of rural cooperative institutions. rather, they have the biggest role to play in this regard. leveraging information technology is a must for achieving financial inclusion and delivering efficient service to the people. full computerization of all tiers of the co - operative institutions along with use of information and communication technology and issue of biometric cards to members has to be achieved to enable to serve the people. way forward 10. you all are aware that all conceivable reform measures have been embedded in the proposed amendments to the co - operative societies acts. however, i want to highlight certain issues, which need to be addressed with urgency. i. pacs are at the base of the entire short - term co - operative credit structure and their health affects the higher tiers. efforts to be made to make them efficient and profitable. ii. we have to go back to good old days of making pacs thrift oriented institutions. pacs generally do not make an effort to mobilize deposits but act as a channel for disbursement of loans by availing refinance. they should make efforts to mobilize deposits from members in order to become self - sustaining. this would also promote savings habit among members. increasing member stake through savings in pacs will result in better involvement of members and a much more alert membership and much better performance of pacs including higher loan recovery. iii. co - operatives should function in the true spirit of co - operation and managed by duly elected members. elections should be held regularly. in order to improve the quality of management, directors and ceos should be appointed on the basis of professional competence, integrity and merit. administrative interference in day - today management should be stopped. iv. the reform package envisages freedom to all tiers of the structure to avail loan from any

of the rbi regulated entities at competitive rates of interest. i am not sure, if any effort has been made in this regard. this must be tried to derive the cost benefit and profitability. freedom should be given for pricing in a fair and transparent manner. v. audits should be done timely and audited statements should be presented to the general body at the agm. vi. full computerization of all the institutions under the three tier structure should be achieved quickly. this will improve the efficiency, internal control system and management information system. vii. training and capacity building of the personnel should be a focus area. nabard and college of agricultural banking have to revamp the training system to prepare the co - operative personnel to meet new challenges and take forward financial inclusion agenda. 11. it is an accepted fact that the rural co - operative credit institutions with vast network of pacs have a great potential to increase flow of credit to agriculture especially to small and marginal farmers. total financial inclusion is not possible without the involvement of cooperatives. in the past, they failed to deliver due to various weaknesses. it is the opportune time now make them vibrant medium to serve credit needs of rural india and at the same time mobilize deposits from rural people to become self - reliant. these institutions should run like banks with professional management and governance. rbi has already prescribed fit and proper criteria for the directors and chief executive officers, which need to be followed. over a period of time, all co - operative banks would be at par with commercial banks as far as regulatory norms are concerned and all prudential norms would be made applicable to them. a beginning has already been made in this regard by way of issuing licenses only those state and central co - operative banks, which have capital to risk weighted assets ratio ( crar ) of 4 % and above. i hope, a new chapter will begin for the rural co - operatives and they will serve the people in the true spirit of co - operation. thank you.