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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COOPERATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2968
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10th MARCH, 2026
Strengthening Cooperative Digital Governance in Odisha
2968. Shri Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi:
Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state:
(a) the status of computerisation of Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) offices in Odisha
and the operationalisation of the National Cooperative Database (NCD) in the State, including
total cooperative societies onboarded, district-wise;
(b) whether measurable improvements have been observed in registration timelines,
transparency, digital compliance and financial reporting of cooperative societies in
aspirational districts, if so, the details thereof;
(c) the total funds allocated, released and utilised for strengthening cooperative digital
infrastructure in Odisha; and
(d) whether the Ministry proposes to further strengthen Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
(PACS), dairy and tribal cooperatives in Kandhamal through AI-enabled governance and
capacity building initiatives, if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION
सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)
(a) The integrated RCS digital portal has been launched by the Hon’ble Home and Cooperation
Minister and gone live on 06.03.2026. The development of APIs for integration with the National
Cooperative Database (NCD) is currently in progress. All the Cooperative Societies of the State
have been onboarded on the NCD portal. The district-wise details are attached in Annexure-I.
(b) The implementation of the project by the majority of the States/UTs is currently in progress.
A few States/UTs have only recently completed the project; therefore, it is too early to assess the
measurable improvements in the functioning of the RCS offices.(c) The total funds allocated to the State of Odisha under the sub-project “Computerization of
the Offices of RCS of States/UTs” under the Centrally Sponsored Project “Strengthening of
Cooperatives through IT (Government of India’s share) are approximately ₹2.20 crore. Out of
this, a total amount of approximately ₹1.49 crore has been released to the State so far. Under the
project, the State has utilized approximately ₹0.61 crore for activities such as the development
of software.
Under the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) Computerization Project, the total funds
allocated to the State of Odisha are approximately ₹36.14 crore. Out of this, a total amount of
approximately ₹18.07 crore has been released to the State so far. The State has fully utilized the
funds released under the project.
Odisha is currently not part of the Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDB)
Computerization Project.
(d) No such proposal is under consideration by the Ministry to strengthen Primary Agricultural
Credit Societies (PACS), dairy, and tribal cooperatives in Kandhamal through AI-enabled
governance. However, as per the information received from the State Government, an MoU has
been signed with OKCL (Odisha Knowledge Corporation Ltd.) for imparting basic computer
literacy and an AI course to the staff of 2711 PACS/LAMPCS (Large Area Multi-Purpose
Cooperative Societies). The staff of all the 24 LAMPCS of Kandhamal are also covered in this
programme.
Training/capacity building programs for cooperative societies are conducted by the National
Council for Cooperative Training (NCCT), which is an autonomous organisation under the
Ministry of Cooperation. NCCT does not maintain any district-level data related to training
imparted. However, it is to be informed that since the inception of the Ministry of Cooperation
in 2021, the Institute of Cooperative Management (ICM), Bhubaneswar, an institute functioning
under NCCT, has conducted 1049 capacity-building programmes and trained 58,773 participants
across diverse cooperative sectors till 31 January 2026.
******Annexure-I
S.No District Total Societies as per NCD
1 ANUGUL 219
2 BALANGIR 327
3 BALESHWAR 408
4 BARGARH 438
5 BHADRAK 350
6 BOUDH 103
7 CUTTACK 730
8 DEOGARH 56
9 DHENKANAL 208
10 GAJAPATI 142
11 GANJAM 616
12 JAGATSINGHAPUR 560
13 JAJAPUR 256
14 JHARSUGUDA 107
15 KALAHANDI 257
16 KANDHAMAL 105
17 KENDRAPARA 366
18 KENDUJHAR 244
19 KHORDHA 409
20 KORAPUT 157
21 MALKANGIRI 82
22 MAYURBHANJ 275
23 NABARANGPUR 164
24 NAYAGARH 248
25 NUAPADA 98
26 PURI 756
27 RAYAGADA 120
28 SAMBALPUR 152
29 SONEPUR 208
30 SUNDARGARH 250
Total 8411
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