Stressing the need to strengthen the agriculture credit framework and it also needs to be reformed, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that there is need to work on taking cooperatives to every sector and agricultural credit should only be available through this.
Addressing the National Conference of Rural Co-operative Banks in New Delhi, he there are about 8.5 lakh cooperative societies in the country, out of which there are 1.78 lakh different types of credit societies.
In the field of agricultural credit, he said, there are 34 state cooperative banks with more than 2,000 branches, 351 district cooperative banks with 14,000 branches and about 95,000 PACS. If we look at all these together, then we can see that those whole built the cooperative sector have left a strong base and there should be a resolve to build a strong structure on this foundation in the year of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, he added.
Amit Shah said PACS are the soul of the cooperative agricultural credit system and under the leadership of Narendra Modi, PACS are being made more transparent and empowered by computerization and till this work is not completed, the system of agricultural credit will not work well and along with this it is also very important to increase their scope.
There are three lakh panchayats in the country and out of the total 95,000 PACS, 65,000 are functioning well, yet there are about two lakh panchayats where PACS does not exist. The first task of all state and district co-operative banks should be to prepare a five-year strategy of having a PACS in every panchayat, he added.
He suggested that every district cooperative bank should have a five-year strategy on how PACS can be formed in their areas, in every panchayat and every state cooperative bank should monitor this strategy and NABARD should also confirm this strategy with its various schemes.
Amit Shah said the Government of India also has a plan to expand rural cooperative banks, which are called ‘Kheti Banks’ in many places. Today, rural cooperative banks provide direct finance to farmers and now it is being considered that rural cooperative banks can also disburse medium and long term finance through PACS.
He said if PACS increase 5 fold, then Rs. 2 lakh crore figure can reach Rs. 10 lakh crore. The aime should be disbursal of Rs. 10 lakh crore agricultural finance through cooperatives. He said a provision for sick PACS has also been suggested to the States in the By-laws.
