New Delhi, July 31 -- India's cooperative banking sector represents one of the world's largest and most deeply rooted community-based financial networks. Of the nearly 1,950 banks operating nationally, more than 90 per cent-1,843 institutions-are cooperative banks. Spread across all 34 States and Union Territories, this network comprises 34 State Cooperative Banks (StCBs), 352 District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and 1,457 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).

Its scale is striking: cooperative banks serve more than 22 crore customer accounts, hold deposits of approximately Rs.13 lakh crore and have an outstanding lending portfolio of around Rs.10.5 lakh crore. They also account for nearly 42 per cent of the country's Kisan Credit Card a...