Parliament Question: Evaluation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 59 ANSWERED ON 04th FEBRUARY 2026 Evaluation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) 59 Shri Subhash Barala: Will the Minister of COOPERATION be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has conducted any independent or third-party evaluation of the newly formed multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperatives, if so, details thereof; (b) whether Government has assessed the regional and State-wise distribution of these 32,000+ cooperatives, particularly in aspirational districts and backward regions, if so, details thereof; (c) whether these newly established cooperatives have been digitized and integrated with platforms such as CBS, e-NAM or cooperative banking systems, if so, number of PACS made operational digitally; (d) whether special provisions have been made to ensure participation of small and marginal farmers, women and SHGs in these cooperatives; and (e) if so, details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a) to (e) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 59 “EVALUATION OF PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCIETIES (PACS)” ASKED BY SHRI SUBHASH BARALA , HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT DUE FOR REPLY ON 04th FEBRUARY, 2026. (a) 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. 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. Independent or third-party evaluation of the newly formed multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperatives have not been contemplated, yet. (b) The Government undertakes State-wise and regional analysis using the National Cooperative Database (NCD) to identify gaps in cooperative coverage, including aspirational districts and underserved regions. The details of State-wise distribution 32,802 new PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies including in aspirational districts and backward regions is at Annexure. (c) As on date, out of 79,630 PACS sanctioned out of which 61,478 PACS have been digitized and have been facilitated to undertake initiatives such as Shared Core Banking Solutions (CBS), AePS, UPI, and digital platforms for cooperative banking have also been rolled out to modernise cooperative financial services. (d) and (e) The Model Bye-laws for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) have been developed and circulated to all States and Union Territories to transform PACS into multipurpose, inclusive and transparent institutions. These Bye-laws provide for broad-based membership and ensure adequate representation of women and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in cooperative governance. Further, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 mandates reservation of two seats for women and one seat for SC/ST members on the boards of multi-State cooperative societies. The National Cooperation Policy (NCP) 2025 also emphasizes promotion of membership and leadership roles for women and weaker sections. The Model Bye-laws enable PACS to function as multipurpose service centres, allowing small and marginal farmers to access affordable credit, quality inputs and allied services at a single point, and to benefit from activities such as warehousing, custom hiring centres and primary processing, thereby improving income realization. Support for women and SHGs is further strengthened through schemes such as Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojana for onward lending to Women SHGs and Nandini Sahakar for promoting women-led cooperatives. . *****Annexure Newly Registered Cooperatives S.N State Covered PACS DCS FCS Grand o districts Total 1 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR 3 1 1 11 13 ISLANDS 2 ANDHRA PRADESH 21 11 1,034 2 1,047 3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 25 121 15 20 156 4 ASSAM 34 469 591 81 1,141 5 BIHAR 38 57 4,589 2 4,648 6 CHHATTISGARH 33 469 351 322 1,142 7 GOA 2 37 5 3 45 8 GUJARAT 33 525 706 23 1,254 9 HARYANA 20 31 161 6 198 10 HIMACHAL PRADESH 11 116 708 6 830 11 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 20 216 1,313 36 1,565 12 JHARKHAND 24 127 257 177 561 13 KARNATAKA 31 243 1,097 45 1,385 14 KERALA 0 0 0 0 0 15 LADAKH 2 3 3 1 7 16 LAKSHADWEEP 1 0 0 7 7 17 MADHYA PRADESH 52 663 874 226 1,763 18 MAHARASHTRA 32 149 1,140 161 1,450 19 MANIPUR 14 104 24 67 195 20 MEGHALAYA 12 228 16 7 251 21 MIZORAM 10 97 2 2 101 22 NAGALAND 13 18 5 18 41 23 ODISHA 30 1,543 679 59 2,281 24 PUDUCHERRY 3 4 3 3 10 25 PUNJAB 23 1 463 43 507 26 RAJASTHAN 33 1,387 2,174 22 3,583 27 SIKKIM 6 24 61 3 88 28 TAMIL NADU 37 28 794 25 847 29 TELANGANA 18 0 173 102 275 30 THE DD & DNH 3 6 1 2 9 31 TRIPURA 8 288 2 19 309 32 UTTAR PRADESH 75 1,099 4,340 486 5,925 33 UTTARAKHAND 13 621 263 120 1,004 34 WEST BENGAL 16 24 137 3 164 Grand Total 696 8,710 21,982 2,110 32,802 *****