Parliament Question: Computerisation and strengthening of PACS in Bihar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4172 ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 Computerisation and strengthening of PACS in Bihar 4172 Shri Akhilesh Prasad Singh: Will the Minister of COOPERATION be pleased to state: (a) the total number of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) functioning in Bihar and the number that have been computerised under the national PACS modernisation programme since 2023; (b) whether Government has reviewed the effectiveness of digitalisation in improving transparency, credit delivery and service efficiency for farmers in districts, including Patna; (c) the financial assistance sanctioned and utilised by Bihar under the Central scheme for computerisation and strengthening of PACS during the last three years; and (d) the measures taken to promote diversification of PACS into multipurpose cooperative institutions offering services such as storage, fertilizer distribution, input supply and marketing support? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a) As per information received from Bihar State, Bihar has a total of 8,463 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). The government has initiated the computerization of these PACS, with the goal of improving operational efficiency, transparency and service delivery to farmers. Till date, 4477 PACS have been Computerized in Bihar. (b) Ministry of Cooperation, NABARD and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS), Bihar are regularly reviewing the digitalisation progress of PACS in Bihar through regular monitoring under national and state-level committees. A structured monitoring framework has been established for effective review of progress of this project in States/UTs, which comprises of the National Level Monitoring and Implementation Committee (NLMIC), State and District Level Implementation and Monitoring Committees (SLIMC and DLIMC), State Cooperative Development Committee (SCDC) (under the Chief Secretary), and District Cooperative Development Committee (DCDC) (under the District Collector). These bodies ensure effective implementation, oversight, and coordination of all cooperative sector initiatives, including PACS computerization. State Cooperative Development Committee meetings under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Bihar arebeing held periodically in the State to review the performance of the cooperative sector in the State. The last SCDC meeting was held on 22nd January 2026. Weekly review meetings are being conducted across Bihar, including all districts, with the participation of RCS officials, Bihar State Cooperative Bank (StCB) officials, and other key stakeholders involved in the PACS Computerization Project. During review meetings, the daily day-end performance of PACS is being closely monitored for timely completion of day-end activities, which ensures transparency and accountability in financial transactions at the PACS level. (c) Under PACS Computerisation Project, financial assistance has been provided to Bihar, the details of which are as under: - Financial Year Funds released and utilised (in Rs.) 2022-23 32,95,00,000/- 2023-24 Nil 2024-25 14,65,77,881/- 2025-26 4,15,16,464/- Total 51,75,94,345/- (d) The details of PACS converted into multipurpose societies are as under:- i) S.No. Particulars Status i Number of PACS 8463 ii. Involved in 2 or more services 7617 iii. Involved in 3 or more services 6234 ii) The major activities of these PACS include procurement, custom hiring centers, dry storage facilities, common services centers, fair price shops, fertilizer distribution etc. iii) Further, in Bihar, 5375 PACS functioning as Common Services Centers, 2304 undertaking fertilizer distribution, 1696 upgraded as PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendra, 27 PACS are operational as PM Jan Aushadhi Kendra & 450 PACS are engaged as Bank Mitra of State Cooperative Banks (StCB)/Distrcict Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) under ‘Cooperation among Cooperatives’ campaign. iv) In Bihar, 36 PACS have been identified across 9 districts with a total storage capacity of 1.045 LMT. All the PACS have been approved in the DCDC, and loans have been sanctioned for 27 PACS. Hiring Assurances have been issued to all 36 PACS by the Bihar State Warehousing Corporation (BSWC), which will also act as the construction agency for the project. *****