NEW DELHI, July 6 -- Union Home Minister and Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the ministry has ushered in a new era for India's cooperative movement by introducing institutional reforms, harnessing technology and creating new national level institutions for uplifting rural India and farmers.
Speaking on the occasion of the ministry's fifth foundation day celebrations here, Shah said that the formation of Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 put an end to the long-due neglect of the cooperative movement, and gave a new hope and mission to more than 32 crore national cooperative members and more than 8.5 lakh cooperative institutions in the country.
"During the past five years, the ministry has made a beginning in pursuing governance reforms, development of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), cooperative credit, market linkages, and circular economy," he said. The ministry has completed the work of preparing an integrated national database of 8.58 lakh cooperative societies for better planning and policy formulation.
Noting significant achievements at the grassroots level, he said, 50,000 PACS have been computerised as e-PACS in the past five years, while 55,000 societies are providing more than 300 citizen services through Common Service Centres. In addition, thousands of PACS have expanded their business to include agricultural produce, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, petrol pumps, and water supply.
"The banking sector reforms have played a significant role in reducing non-performing assets and have facilitated digital transactions which have helped in building public trust," he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.