Parliament Question: Exclusion of West Bengal from new national cooperative initiative

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3695 ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 Exclusion of West Bengal from new national cooperative initiative 3695 Shri Samik Bhattacharya: Will the Minister of Cooperation be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has assessed the low participation of cooperative societies from West Bengal in new national initiatives such as Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) expansion into 30+ business activities, Multi-State Cooperative Societies and cooperative startups; (b) the number of PACS and other cooperatives in West Bengal that have been onboarded for these new activities compared to other States; and (c) whether specific bottlenecks at the State level have been identified that are preventing West Bengal cooperatives from accessing these national programmes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a) and (b) The Ministry of Cooperation has undertaken several initiatives aimed at strengthening and expanding the cooperative sector across the country, including diversification of activities of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) such as operation of CSCs, PMKSKs, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, etc thereby creating additional income streams. Further, 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. 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-based national software, linking them with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through StCBs and DCCBs. An assessment of the status of West Bengal in respect of some of the major initiatives has been compiled and placed at Annexure. (c) As per the available data reflected in the Annexure, the participation of cooperative societies from West Bengal in some major initiatives is comparatively lower than other States, indicating significant scope for further expansion.The schemes and initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation are uniformly applicable to all States/UTs. In the case of West Bengal, decisions are awaited in respect of initiatives such as PM Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Common Service Centres (CSCs), PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK), Paani Samitis, petrol/diesel outlets, and participation in national cooperative institutions such as NCOL, NCEL and BBSSL, as well as registrations on NCCF and NAFED portals, thereby limiting West Bengal cooperatives from benefits of these national programmes. The Ministry continues to engage with the State Government to facilitate wider participation and effective implementation of these initiatives. *****Annexure S.No. STATE 2 Lakh MPACS/DCS/ % PACS % of % of FCS Formation + digitised vis-à- PACS PACS as Strengthening- % vis sanctioned as PMKSK Achievement vis-a-vis- PACS under CSC targets PACS MPACS DCS FCS computerizatio n 1 ANDHRA PRADESH 1% 19% 52% 99% 91% 66% 2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 6% 0% 200% 9% 5% 0% 3 ASSAM 45% 71% 138% 68% 47% 4% 4 BIHAR 32% 61% 5% 100% 62% 20% 5 CHHATTISGARH 75% 25% 202% 100% 78% 82% 6 GOA 123% 10% 150% 59% 27% 4% 7 GUJARAT 29% 156% 38% 92% 23% 31% 8 HARYANA 6% 19% 28% 88% 59% 92% 9 HIMACHAL PRADESH 51% 371% 167% 73% 41% 34% 10 JHARKHAND 12700% 109% 113% 53% 46% 10% 11 KARNATAKA 111% 41% 130% 74% 37% 28% 12 KERALA* 0% 125% 47% - 1% 64% 13 MADHYA PRADESH 51% 21% 76% 83% 81% 87% 14 MAHARASHTRA 36% 47% 132% 99% 40% 3% 15 MANIPUR 7% 16% 198% 65% 34% 12% 16 MEGHALAYA 5% 65% 39% 3% 14% 0% 17 MIZORAM 13% 3% 10% 25% 15% 0% 18 NAGALAND 1% 13% 60% 44% 1% 0% 19 ODISHA 1696% 17% 35% 0% 35% 59% 20 PUNJAB 0% 56% 93% 91% 73% 71% 21 RAJASTHAN 438% 65% 51% 72% 59% 46% 22 SIKKIM 77% 600% 67% 82% 49% 0% 23 TAMIL NADU 1% 532% 16% 99% 100% 71% 24 TELANGANA* 0% 28% 56% - 62% 86% 25 TRIPURA 39% 3% 100% 56% 34% 0% 26 UTTARAKHAND 83% 43% 245% 55% 63% 48% 27 UTTAR PRADESH 36% 102% 94% 49% 66% 83% 28 WEST BENGAL 2% 9% 13% 79% 1% 0% 29 ANDAMAN AND 0% 0% 63% 100% 11% 2% NICOBAR ISLANDS 30 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 26% 657% 195% 76% 69% 22% 31 LADAKH 3% 0% 25% 100% 5% 0% 32 PUDUCHERRY 44% 7% 43% 100% 51% 11% 33 DAMAN AND DIU & 21% 0% 100% 44% 44% 0% DNH *Kerala and Telangana are not part of PACS Computerisation Project