Unless PACS are equipped with technology, there is no transparency in their administration and there are issues in their viability: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 26 November, 2024: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah today attended the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of National Federation of State Co-operative Banks Limited (NAFSCOB) and national meeting of Rural Cooperative Banks at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Many dignitaries including Union Ministers of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal and Muralidhar Mohol, and Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation were present on the occasion.
In his address, Shri Amit Shah underlined that there are two main objectives of celebrating the diamond jubilee celebrations of any institution– first, to showcase the contribution and achievements of the institution in the last 60 years; second, to look at its mistakes and improve them. He said that without the three-tiered structure of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), district level and state level banks, it was impossible for India's agriculture, farmers and villages to successfully complete the journey of 75 years of independence. He added that in a vast country like India, the system of disbursing short-term agricultural loan to about 13 crore farmers without any hassle has been instrumental in giving a new lease of life to farmers and the agriculture sector of thecountry.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the district and state level banks have not only taken care of short term agricultural loans, but the district level banks and PACS have also breathed a new life into every aspect, ranging from collective farming, water management, materials used in farming and individual work to strengthening the village, with the support from the state level bank.
Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today India is moving from‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’ to ‘Samriddhi Se Sampoornata’. He said that the objective of establishing the Ministry of Cooperation is also contained in the mantra of‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’. He said that in 2027, India's economy will be the third largest economy in the Worldwhich is also a goal of the cooperative sector. Shri Shah said that along with this, the objective of the Ministry of Cooperation is to also to take care of the happiness of 140 crore people of the country. He said that cooperatives do not envisage economic development in which the country progresses but the countrymen lag behind, but it favours equal development for all. He said that along with the development of the country's economy, the development of our farmers, rural, Dalit, tribal and women is also very important. He said that Mahatma Gandhi kept the vision of Gramin Swaraj (Rural self-rule) and Ramrajya in front of us and to make it a reality, Prime Minister Modi formed the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021. He said that the third term of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is a “MOMENT” for all the people associated with the cooperative sector and from here we have to move forward.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that there are two obstacles in the cooperative sector - unequal treatment and absence of a seamless legal framework and the evils that have cropped in during the last 75 years. He said that if we overcome both these obstacles, then the next 5 years will prove to be a defining moment for the cooperative sector. He said that India's cooperative sector has the potential to guide the cooperative sectors across the world.
Shri Amit Shah said that in 1964, Dr. Dhananjayrao Ramchandra Gadgil and Maganbhai Patel established NAFSCOB with a vision. He said that through various efforts, NAFSCOB has guided and helped the district and state level banks of the country. Shri Shah said that NAFSCOB is the only institution that keeps authorized data of 100 basic parameters of state level, district level banks and thousands of PACS, on the basis of which the agricultural loan blueprint is drawn across the country. He said that the transparency and accuracy of this data has been found to be 99.72 percent. Shri Shah said that NAFSCOB was established to examine the problems related to cooperative credit, banking and to formulate strategies for their solution.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that unless PACS are equipped with technology, there is no transparency in their administration and there are issues in their viability. The district and state banks can remain effective, only by keeping PACS healthy and performing. He said that we will have to come out of the traditional approaches within PACS and provide space to the youth to connect with not only cooperatives but also with the functioning of PACS.
Shri Amit Shah said that to strengthen the spirit of cooperation, every problem of the village should be the problem of PACS, every issue of the district should be the issue of the district cooperative bank and every problem of the state should be the problem of the state cooperative bank. He said that if our PACS or district cooperative banks shed three values of ‘participation of all’, ‘welfare of all’ and ‘equal distribution of profit’, then we will never succeed in our objective. He said that if we have to earn the trust of the public in cooperative sector, then transparency is very important and for transparency, PACS, district cooperative banks and state cooperative banks should initiate in this regard. Shri Shah said that today NAFSCOB has 34 state cooperative banks, 352 district level cooperative banks and 1,05,000 PACS, of which about 65,000are operational, and, this entire system should work together.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that a total of Rs 4,33,000 crore is deposited in the District Cooperative Banks and Rs 2,42,000 crore is deposited in the State Cooperative Banks and we should also set a target to increase the deposit. Shri Shah said that the only way ahead is ‘Cooperation Among Cooperatives’, that is, if the bank accounts of all the cooperative bodies come to the District Cooperative Bank, then automatically there will be an increase of 20% in low cost deposits and when low cost deposits increase, the profit will also increase automatically and the capacity to give loans will also increase.
Shri Amit Shah said that the White Revolution has been successful in India through Amul and today the turnover of Amul is Rs 80,000 crore. He said that this entire turnover now happens through the District Cooperative Banks and we have achieved this great feat in just 2 years. He said that every District Cooperative Bank should adopt this model and advance its strength and confidence. Shri Shah said that today the profit of State Cooperative Banks is about Rs 2,400 crore and the profit of District Cooperative Banks is Rs 1,881 crore, we should set targets for growth in this area as well.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that as long as we do not strengthen PACS, district cooperative banks are of no significance, and in order to strengthen PACS, the Modi government has initiated several steps. He said that the old Bye-Laws of PACS had become irrelevant. He mentioned that we have made many changes in them and sent the model Bye-Laws to the states, all states have accepted them. Shri Shah said that in these model Bye-Laws, we have added several new activities. Now PACS can also operate Prime Minister's Jan Aushadhi Kendras, run dairies, manage fishermen's committees, and nearly 744 PACS have also received drug licenses. Along with this, PACS have been granted fertilizer licenses, and around 39,000 PACS have now become Common Service Centers (CSCs) and are providing more than 300 services in villages. He said that these more than 20 activities will make PACS viable, which will lead to an increase in the number of district cooperative banks and state cooperative banks. He further stated that in the next 5 years, district cooperative banks will be opened in 80 per cent districts in the country, which will strengthen the cooperative sector.
Shri Amit Shah said that the role of NAFSCOB should also be to make PACS viable, transparent and modern and to achieve their total computerization. Shri Shah said that the government is also exploring the possibility of long-term finance through PACS, which will also lead to growth in PACS’ business.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the cooperative sector can drive the economy of the entire country. He mentioned that providing employment, respect, and prosperity to the country’s 140 crore population can only be achieved through cooperatives. Shri Shah stated that if state cooperative banks and district cooperative banks do not become sensitive to PACS, then the sensitivity of the Ministry of Cooperation will not achieve the desired results.
