Parliament Question: Digitization of Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3743 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12th AUGUST, 2025 Digitization of Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra 3743. Shri Tatkare Sunil Dattatrey: Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state: (a) the details of the number of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) digitized so far in the country, State-wise and district-wise in the State of Maharashtra including Raigad Lok Sabha Constituency; (b) the infrastructure and software solutions provided to PACS in Maharashtra as part of the digitization drive; (c) whether the Government is conducting training of cooperative members in rural areas for efficient digital operations, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government has faced any challenges during digitization in tribal areas like Raigad and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to address them; and (e) the role of digitized cooperatives in enhancing access to credit and services for small farmers and SHGs. ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a): The Government has launched the Central Sponsored Project for Computerization of PACS, in 2022. Government of India initially approved 63,000 PACS under Project of Computerization of functional PACS with a total financial outlay of ₹2,516 Crore which has now been increased up to 2925.39 Crore covering 73,492 PACS which entails bringing all the functional PACS onto an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) based common national software, linking them with NABARD through State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs). The state-wise details are at Annexure- ‘A’. Further, In Maharashtra, the total sanctioned PACS under this project are 12000. The district- wise details are at Annexure- ‘B’. including Raigad District which has 122 PACS. All 122 PACS have been provided hardware and have been onboarded on ERP Software. (b): Under Computerization of PACS Project, hardware comprising Desktop PC with web camera, UPS, VPN, Biometric device, printer have been made available for all the sanctioned 12,000 PACS. The software solution under this project is ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) based common national software.In Maharashtra, the ERP software is available in English and Marathi languages which provides separate modules for various activities of the PACS. (c): Yes, Sir. The Government is conducting training of cooperative members in rural areas for efficient digital operations. The details of training and hand-holding provided to the PACS members under this Project are at Annexure-‘C’. In Maharashtra, a host of training programs have been organized for various stakeholders under the project, the details of which are as under:- ▪ A Basic Orientation Training Programme for Master Trainers was conducted from 18-20 August 2023, with 224 master trainers identified from StCB, DCCBs, and SI. ▪ A training programme for 148 Core Master Trainers (CMTs) was conducted in May and June 2024. ▪ Additionally, a Training of Master Trainers programme was conducted in all districts for 48 Master Trainers from both DCCBs and SI during July and August 2024. (d): No, Sir. All necessary facilities for the computerization of PACS in Raigad district have been provided through the District Central Cooperative Bank(DCCB) without any challenge. All 122 sanctioned PACS have now been onboarded to ePACS with the help of DCCB. (e): The digitization of PACS plays a critical role in enhancing access to credit and allied services for small and marginal farmers, as well as Self Help Groups (SHGs), in the following ways: • Improved transparency and accountability in credit disbursal and repayment, reducing leakages and delays. • Faster processing of loan applications and service requests through integrated software platforms. • Real-time data availability, enabling better credit planning and inclusion of underserved sections. • Direct benefit transfer (DBT) integration, ensuring timely credit of subsidies and schemes to beneficiaries. • Support for financial inclusion, enabling PACS to offer basic banking services and act as business correspondents of banks. • It is envisaged that PACS when transitioned to ePACS may be more efficient due to convenience in accounting, MIS and operations, which will enable them to service their members, be these Self Help Group (SHGs) and Farmers Producer Organization (FPOs) or individuals, in a better way. This support may enable PACS to take up additional activities; viz CSC, Fertiliser Units, Soil Health Testing, etc., which helps them in dispensing better services. Digitized cooperatives play a vital role in enhancing access to credit and services for small farmers and Self-Help Groups (SHGs). ****Annexure ‘A’ PACS Computerization Project Status (30th June 2025) S. No States Approved PACS ERP Onboarded 1 Maharashtra 12,000 11,954 2 Rajasthan 7,468 5,900 3 Gujarat 5,754 5,627 4 Uttar Pradesh 5,686 3,048 5 Karnataka 5,682 3,765 6 Madhya Pradesh 5,188 4,428 7 Tamil Nadu 4,532 4,531 8 Bihar 4,495 4,460 9 West Bengal 4,167 3,145 10 Punjab 3,482 3,408 11 Odisha* 2,711 - 12 Andhra Pradesh 2,037 2,021 13 Chhattisgarh 2,028 2,028 14 Himachal Pradesh 1,789 965 15 Jharkhand 2,797 1,414 16 Haryana 710 609 17 Uttarakhand 670 670 18 Assam 583 579 19 J&K 537 536 20 Tripura 268 207 21 Manipur 232 175 22 Nagaland 231 64 23 Meghalaya 112 99 24 Sikkim 107 103 25 Goa 58 45 26 ANI 46 46 27 Puducherry 45 43 28 Mizoram 49 25 29 Arunachal Pradesh 14 11 30 Ladakh 10 10 31 DNH&DD 4 4 Total 73,492 59,920 * Odisha has recently joined the ProjectAnnexure- ‘B’ PACS Computerization Project Status-Maharashtra (As on 30th June 2025) S.No. District Name Approved PACS ERP Onboarded 1 Ahmednagar 946 946 2 Dhule 175 175 3 Jalgaon 352 352 4 Jalna 200 191 5 Kolhapur 1751 1725 6 Nandurbar 111 111 7 Palghar 93 93 8 Pune 1192 1192 9 Raigad 122 122 10 Ratnagiri 287 282 11 Sangli 650 639 12 Satara 933 942 13 Sindhudurg 214 214 14 Thane 144 144 16 Akola 412 411 17 Amravati 214 219 18 Aurangabad 305 305 19 Buldhana 201 200 20 Hingoli 156 155 21 Nagpur 162 162 22 Nashik 614 615 23 Parbhani 149 149 24 Washim 424 424 25 Yavatmal 210 210 27 Beed 200 200 28 Bhandara 135 135 29 Chandrapur 179 179 30 Gadchiroli 101 101 31 Gondia 121 121 32 Latur 482 475 33 Nanded 64 64 34 Osmanabad 156 156 35 Solapur 545 545 Grand Total 12,000 11,954Annexure-‘C’ PACS Training and Handholding Details Sum of Total Sanction Training to Handholding to S. No State PACS PACS PACS Andaman and 1 Nicobar 46 46 46 2 Andhra Pradesh 2037 592 1469 3 Arunachal Pradesh 14 11 11 4 Assam 583 539 572 5 Bihar 4495 1698 1336 6 Chhattisgarh 2028 2028 2025 7 Daman and Diu 4 0 4 8 Goa 58 41 14 9 Gujarat 5754 5618 1440 10 Haryana 710 600 585 11 Himachal Pradesh 1789 831 617 12 Jammu and Kashmir 537 533 465 13 Jharkhand 2797 1368 168 14 Karnataka 5682 3702 24 15 Ladakh 10 7 0 16 Madhya Pradesh 5188 3900 4488 17 Maharashtra 12000 6858 8520 18 Manipur 232 169 0 19 Meghalaya 112 99 46 20 Mizoram 49 25 23 21 Nagaland 231 30 9 22 Odisha 2711 0 0 23 Pondicherry 45 43 33 24 Punjab 3482 948 861 25 Rajasthan 7468 5583 1847 26 Sikkim 107 104 29 27 Tamil Nadu 4532 4531 3001 28 Tripura 268 207 159 29 Uttar Pradesh 5686 1098 0 30 Uttarakhand 670 0 0 31 West Bengal 4167 3113 44 Grand Total 73492 44322 27836 * Odisha has recently joined the Project