Parliament Question: Expansion and Diversification of PACS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 137 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09th DECEMBER, 2025 Expansion and Diversification of PACS 137. Smt. Bijuli Kalita Medhi: Shri Bunty Vivek Sahu: Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state: (a) the present coverage of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across Gram Panchayats and the progress made in establishing new multipurpose cooperatives under the national plan; (b) the initiatives taken to link PACS with Central schemes such as PM-KISAN, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK) and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK); (c) the steps undertaken to expand the scope of cooperatives into emerging areas such as organic produce, dairy and fisheries through entities like NCOL and NCEL; (d) the details of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms set up by the Government to ensure effective coordination and accountability across States and sectors particularly in Jharkhand; and (e) the steps being taken by the Government to increase the income of farmers and make them self-reliant through PACS in Gram Panchayats? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (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 Lok Sabha Starred Question no. 137 for reply on 09th December, 2025 asked by Smt. Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Shri Bunty Vivek Sahu regarding Expansion and Diversification of PACS (a) The Government on 15.2.2023, approved the Plan for strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. As on 15.11.2025, a total of 30,083 new PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered and 15,793 Dairy and Fisheries Cooperative Societies have been strengthened across the country under this plan, the details of which are enclosed at Annexure-I and II respectively. So far, 2,55,881 Gram Panchayats (GPs) are covered by PACS; 87,159 GPs are covered by Dairy Cooperative Societies; and 29,964 GPs are covered by Fishery Cooperative Societies. (b) In order to link PACSs with central schemes like PM-KISAN, PMKSK, and PMBJK, 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 Byelaws 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. Ministry of Cooperation has taken multiple measures to integrate Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with PM-KISAN and other Central schemes like PMKSK, and PMBJK; with a view to making PACS local-level service delivery hubs for farmers. These include: 1. ERP-enabled Convergence with Farmer Databases: The Centrally Sponsored Project on Computerization of PACS provides a uniform ERP-based platform by integrating national portals such as PM-KISAN, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendra(PMKSK), interest subvention, fertiliser and seed distribution, PDS outlets, LPG/Petrol/Diesel dealerships, custom hiring, PM Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Common Service Centres, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), etc. 2. Multi-Sectoral Scheme Linkages: PACS have also been enabled to participate in a range of Central schemes, including: i. PACS as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSK) providing fertilizers, pesticides and various other agri inputs to farmers under one roof. So far, 38,330 PACS have been upgraded into PMKSKs. ii. PACS as Common Service Centers (CSCs) to deliver more than 300 e-services such as banking, insurance, electricity bill payments, health services, legal services, etc. to rural citizens; etc. So far, 51,183 PACS have started functioning as CSC.iii. PACS as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) to ensure availability of quality generic medicines to rural citizens at affordable prices. So far, 799 PACS have got Store Codes from PMBI and are ready to function as PMBJK. iv. PACS made eligible for Retail Petrol/ Diesel outlets: Government has allowed PACS to be included in the Combined Category 2 (CC2) for allotment of retail petrol/ diesel outlets. v. PACS given permission to convert bulk consumer petrol pumps into retail outlets: The existing bulk consumer licensee PACS have been given a one-time option by Oil Marketing Companies to convert into retail outlets. As per information shared by OMCs, 117 wholesale consumer pump licensee PACS from 5 States have given consent for conversion into Retail Outlets, out of which 59 PACS have been commissioned by the OMCs. vi. PACS made eligible for LPG Distributorship for diversifying its activities: Government has now allowed PACS to apply for LPG Distributorships. This will give PACS an option to increase their economic activities and diversify their income stream. vii. PACS have been made eligible to carry out Operations & Maintenance (O&M) of piped water supply schemes in rural areas. As per information received from States/ UTs, 763 PACS have been identified/ selected by 11 States/ UTs to provide O&M services at Panchayat/ Village level. (c) To expand the scope of cooperative institutions into organic production and fisheries through institutions like NCOL and NCEL, the Ministry of Cooperation has taken several steps to strengthen the national-level institutions. National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) has been established as the apex multi-state cooperative for organic farming, now has 10,035 PACS/cooperative societies as members and provides end-to-end support including aggregation, certification, testing, processing, branding and export facilitation. NCOL markets products under the “Bharat Organics” brand, offering 28 certified organic products that are batch-tested for over 245 pesticides, and has signed partnership arrangements with various States for procurement, certification and cluster development. The National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) has been established as India’s dedicated cooperative export vehicle and now has 13,848 PACS/cooperatives as members, exporting 13.09 LMT of agricultural commodities worth Rs5,397 crore, while distributing a 20% dividend to member cooperatives during 2023–24. In fisheries, the Ministry has strengthened cooperative participation through the formation of new multipurpose cooperatives and the expansion of Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs). The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has supported this push by providing financial assistance for deep-sea fishing vessels, seafoodprocessing infrastructure, and by initiating the conversion of 1,000 fisheries cooperatives into FFPOs with an approved outlay of Rs 280.65 crore. Collectively, these initiatives—supported by MoUs with States, integration with PACS networks, and the creation of export and organic- focused apex cooperatives—have created a comprehensive institutional framework that expands cooperative participation across organic agriculture, fisheries, value-added processing, and international markets. (d) To monitor schemes/ projects at the grassroots level for ensuring effective implementation and to ensure effective coordination and accountability in states, Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) has adopted a multi-layered approach to monitor schemes/ projects at the grassroots level for ensuring effective implementation and to ensure effective coordination and accountability in states, including Jharkhand. For this purpose, committees have been constituted at various levels—from the national level to the district level. These include: i. Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) – Chaired by the Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs & Cooperation; ii. National Level Coordination Committee (NLCC) – Chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation; iii. State Cooperative Development Committee (SCDC) – Chaired by the Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT; and iv. District Cooperative Development Committee (DCDC) – Chaired by the District Collector of the respective district. In addition to the above, a Joint Working Committee (JWC) is also being constituted by the States at the district level as a sub-committee of the DCDC. This committee comprises district- level officers of the concerned State departments and representatives of district-level federations/organizations. The JWC serves as the ground-level committee responsible for achieving targets related to the formation of new M-PACS, dairy cooperatives, and fisheries cooperatives. Further, monthly State Review Meetings and bi-monthly Regional Review Meetings were conducted to track and assess the progress of the scheme. Furthermore, a Project Management Unit (PMU) has also been set up in the Ministry of Cooperation to facilitate coordination among all relevant stakeholders. These efforts are supported by robust reporting mechanisms through the National Cooperative Database (NCD), ensuring transparency and accountability.(e) Various steps have been taken by the Government to increase the income of farmers and make them self-reliant through PACS in Gram Panchayats. To increase the viability of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and diversify their business activities to make them vibrant economic entities, Model Byelaws for PACS have been prepared to enable PACS to diversify their business activities by undertaking more than 25 business activities, including dairy, fishery, floriculture, setting up godowns, procurement of foodgrains, fertilizers, LPG/CNG/Petrol/Diesel distributorship, short-term & long-term credit, custom common service centers, etc. PACS have already been enabled to participate in a range of Central schemes the brief of which have already been provided at para (b) above. Further, 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. *****Annexure-I Sr.No States/UTs No. of No. of No. of Total* MPACS DCS FCS formed formed formed 1 Andaman And Nicobar Islands 1 1 11 13 2 Andhra Pradesh - 895 2 897 3 Arunachal Pradesh 126 15 20 161 4 Assam 432 556 75 1,063 5 Bihar 56 4,460 2 4,518 6 Chhattisgarh 321 352 320 993 7 Goa 30 4 3 37 8 Gujarat 468 694 22 1,184 9 Haryana 30 150 6 186 10 Himachal Pradesh 102 666 6 774 11 Jammu And Kashmir 205 1,266 36 1,507 12 Jharkhand 44 238 144 426 13 Karnataka 233 933 42 1,208 14 Kerala - - - - 15 Ladakh 3 3 1 7 16 Lakshadweep - - 7 7 17 Madhya Pradesh 626 751 203 1,580 18 Maharashtra 180 1,065 151 1,396 19 Manipur 97 24 66 187 20 Meghalaya 237 16 8 261 21 Mizoram 91 2 2 95 22 Nagaland 24 4 18 46 23 Odisha 1,537 451 51 2,039 24 Puducherry 4 3 3 10 25 Punjab - 453 41 494 26 Rajasthan 1,242 1,928 22 3,192 27 Sikkim 24 57 3 84 28 Tamil Nadu 28 806 25 859 29 Telangana - 174 102 276 30 The DD & DNH 5 - 1 6 31 Tripura 274 1 14 289 32 Uttar Pradesh 857 3,915 376 5,148 33 Uttarakhand 601 256 119 976 34 West Bengal 23 138 3 164 35 Chandigarh - - - - 36 Delhi - - - - 7,901 20,277 1,905 30,083 *As on 15.11.2025ANNEXURE-II Sr.No States/UTs No. of DCS No. of FCS Total* strengthened strengthened 1 Andaman And Nicobar - 4 4 Islands 2 Andhra Pradesh 106 156 262 3 Arunachal Pradesh - 2 2 4 Assam 192 63 255 5 Bihar 834 12 846 6 Chhattisgarh - 217 217 7 Goa - 3 3 8 Gujarat 3,956 21 3,977 9 Haryana - 1 1 10 Himachal Pradesh 168 9 177 11 Jammu And Kashmir 756 1 757 12 Jharkhand 159 12 171 13 Karnataka 619 80 699 14 Kerala 379 45 424 15 Ladakh - - - 16 Lakshadweep - - - 17 Madhya Pradesh 97 163 260 18 Maharashtra - 463 463 19 Manipur - 155 155 20 Meghalaya 137 5 142 21 Mizoram - 1 1 22 Nagaland - 11 11 23 Odisha 209 - 209 24 Puducherry - - - 25 Punjab 607 - 607 26 Rajasthan 1,001 - 1,001 27 Sikkim 251 1 252 28 Tamil Nadu 4,230 3 4,233 29 Telangana 175 224 399 30 The DD & DNH - - - 31 Tripura - 26 26 32 Uttar Pradesh 113 - 113 33 Uttarakhand 104 - 104 34 West Bengal - 22 22 35 Chandigarh - - - 36 Delhi - - - 14,093 1,700 15,793 * As on 15.11.2025