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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COOPERATION
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4175
ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026
Enhancing commercial activities of Multipurpose PACS
4175 # Smt. Darshana Singh:
Will the Minister of COOPERATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Ministry has taken any step to enhance the business activities of Multipurpose
Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS);
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether there is any plan for the convergence of existing schemes of the Central
Government at the PACS level; and
(d) if so, the details of the schemes proposed to be converged?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION
(SHRI AMIT SHAH)
(a) to (d): Ministry of Cooperation has taken several steps to enhance the business activities of
Multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) through convergence of existing
schemes of the Central Government. The details of such steps and initiatives are as under:
i. Model Bye-Laws for Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS), making them
multipurpose, vibrant business entities:
Government, in consultation with all the stakeholders, including States/ UTs, National
Level Federations, State Cooperative Banks (StCBs), District Central Cooperative Banks
(DCCBs), etc., has prepared and circulated Model Bye-laws for PACS to all the States/
UTs, which enable PACS to undertake more than 25 business activities, improve
governance, transparency, and accountability in their operations. Provisions have also
been made to make the membership of PACS more inclusive and broad-based, giving
adequate representation to women and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. So far, 32
States/ UTs have adopted Model Bye-laws or their existing bye-laws are in line with
Model Bye-laws.
ii. Establishing New Multipurpose PACS/ Dairy/ Fishery Cooperatives to cover all the
Panchayats:
The Government of India has approved the plan to establish new multipurpose
PACS/dairy/fisheries cooperatives, aiming to cover all panchayats and villages in the
country over the next five years. This initiative is supported by NABARD, National DairyDevelopment Board (NDDB), National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), and
State/UT Governments. As per the National Cooperative Database, a total of 32,802 new
PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered; and 15,793 Dairy
and Fisheries Cooperative Societies have been strengthened as on 20.01.2026 across the
country since the approval of the plan on 15.2.2023.
iii. Strengthening of PACS through Computerization:
To strengthen PACS, a project for the Computerization of functional PACS with a total
financial outlay of ₹2925.39 Crore has been approved by the Government of India, which
entails bringing all functional PACS in the Country onto a common ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning)-based national software, linking them with National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through StCBs and DCCBs. A total of
79,630 PACS from 31 States/ UTs have been sanctioned under the project. A total of
61,478 PACS have been onboarded on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software,
and hardware has been procured by 30 States/UTs.
iv. World’s Largest Decentralized Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector:
Government has approved a plan to create warehouses, custom hiring centers, primary
processing units and other agri-infrastructure for grain storage at PACS level, through
convergence of various Government of India (GOI) schemes, including Agriculture
Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub
Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of
Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), etc. This will reduce wastage of
food grains and transportation costs, enable farmers to realize better prices for their
produce and meet various agricultural needs at the PACS level itself. Under the pilot
project, construction of godowns in 11 PACS of 11 States has been completed. Further,
under the Extended Pilot, more than 500 PACS across the country have been identified
for the construction of godowns under the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in the
Cooperative Sector.
Currently, the State Department of Food and Civil Supplies, National Agricultural
Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), and National Cooperative
Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF) have given hiring assurance for godowns
to be constructed in 287 PACS, and construction work has commenced in 208 PACS, out
of which construction completed in 109 PACS (Rajasthan. -90, Maharashtra- 15 and
Gujarat - 4)
v. PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) for better access to e-services:
An MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Cooperation, the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), NABARD, and CSC e-Governance
Services India Limited for providing more than 300 e-services such as banking,
insurance, Aadhar enrolment/ updation, health services, PAN card, and IRCTC/ Bus/ Air
ticket, etc., through PACS. So far, 52,018 PACS are functioning as CSC.
vi. Formation of new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) by PACS:With the initiative of Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, additional target of
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) was allocated to NCDC by Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI, for formation and promotion of FPOs in
cooperative sector through strengthening of PACS under the scheme and NCDC got target
of 1117 FPOs and registered/onboarded 1117 FPOs through the members of PACS. This
will help provide farmers with necessary market linkages and a fair and remunerative
process for their produce. NCDC has disbursed ₹245 crore to FPOs/Cluster-Based
Business Organizations (CBBOs) under the scheme as of 15.01.2026.
vii. PACS given priority for Retail Petrol/ Diesel outlets: The Government has allowed
PACS to be included in the Combined Category 2 (CC2) for allotment of retail petrol/
diesel outlets. As per information received from Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), 394
PACS from 28 States/UTs have applied online for retail petrol/ diesel outlets. So far, 12
PACS have been commissioned as Retail Outlets.
viii. PACS as PM Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra for improving access to generic
medicines at the rural level: PACS have been allowed to operate Pradhan Mantri
Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), which will provide an additional income
source to them and ease the access to quality generic medicines for rural citizens. So far,
817 PACS are functioning as PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
ix. PACS as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK): PACS have been
enabled to operate PMKSK for ensuring easy accessibility of fertilizer & related services
to farmers in the country. As per the information shared by the States/ UTs, a total of
38,190 PACS are functioning as PMKSK.
x. PACS to carry out O&M of rural piped water supply schemes (PWS): PACS have
been made eligible to carry out the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) of PWS in rural
areas. As per information received from States/ UTs, 762 PACS have been identified/
selected by 10 States/ UTs to provide O&M services at the Panchayat/ Village level.
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