Parliament Question: Strengthening of Cooperative Institutions in Vellore

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3845 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11th AUGUST, 2026 Strengthening of Cooperative Institutions in Vellore 3845. Thiru D M Kathir Anand: Will the Minister of COOPERATION (सहकारिता मंत्री) be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has examined the functioning of cooperative institutions in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, including Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies, Urban Cooperative Banks, Cooperative Marketing Societies, Cooperative Housing Societies, Cooperative Milk Producers' Societies and other cooperative institutions operating in the district and if so, the details thereof; (b) the programmes introduced by the Government to strengthen governance, professional management, digitalisation and member services in cooperative institutions of the district; (c) whether financial, technical or capacity-building support has been provided or is proposed for improving the operational efficiency and long-term sustainability of these cooperative institutions, if so, the details thereof; (d) the initiatives taken to expand credit access, marketing support and business opportunities for cooperative members, particularly farmers, artisans and small entrepreneurs; and (e) the details of the reforms and developmental measures undertaken by the Government to enhance the overall performance and outreach of the cooperative sector in the district? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a) To examine the functioning of cooperative institutions across the country, including those in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, the Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) has adopted a multi-layered institutional mechanism for monitoring cooperative sector initiatives at the State and district levels, with a view to ensuring effective coordination, implementation and monitoring. For this purpose, Page 1 of 5committees 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. As per information received from the State of Tamil Nadu, two SCDC meetings and two DCDC meetings have been convened so far. Further, Ministry has launched the ‘Cooperative Ranking Framework’ which provides standardized parameters—including audit compliance, financial performance, and operational activities—that enable the State Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) to conduct independent assessments and take necessary steps to strengthen societies at the State, district, and block levels. The sector-wise details of the total number and the number of functional cooperative societies in Vellore district are attached at Annexure-A. (b) to (e) The Government has undertaken a series of digital, financial and capacity-building measures to strengthen governance, professional management, service delivery, operational efficiency and outreach of cooperative institutions, including those functioning in Vellore district: • Under the National Plan for formation of new Multipurpose PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies to achieve cooperative coverage in every uncovered Panchayat/village over a period of five years, as on 15.07.2026, a 27 PACS, 940 DCS and 36 FCS have been registered in the State of Tamil Nadu including 11 DCS in the Vellore district. • Under the Central Sector Project for Computerization of PACS, 4,561 PACS have been sanctioned and Rs 55.73 Cr have been disbursed to the State of Tamil Nadu. As on 15.07.2026, hardware has been delivered to 4,532 PACS and 4,481 PACS have been onboarded onto the common ERP-based national software including 64 PACS in Vellore District. The initiative is aimed at improving transparency, accounting, audit, monitoring, digital service delivery and integration with the cooperative banking structure. • The Model Bye-laws circulated by the Ministry of Cooperation and adopted by the State enable PACS to undertake more than 25 diversified business activities. Page 2 of 5• As per information provided by the State of Tamil Nadu, in Vellore district, 55 PACS are functioning as Common Service Centres and Fair Price Shops; 43 PACS are providing micro- ATM facilities, 55 PACS are working as PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras. • Further, 28 PACS are providing agricultural machinery services, 9 are operating Pharmacy/Medical Store, one is operating a Cooperative Medical Shop, 43 PACS have godowns. • For improving professional management and long-term institutional sustainability, capacity- building programmes are conducted through the National Council for Cooperative Training. In Tamil Nadu, such programmes are implemented through the Natesan Institute of Cooperative Management, Chennai, and the Institute of Cooperative Management, Madurai. During the last five years, these institutions have trained 1,31,499 participants in the State, including 2,688 participants from Vellore district, in areas such as cooperative governance, financial management, digital literacy, computerization and business diversification. • In addition, 4,097 PACS Secretaries in Tamil Nadu have been trained in the effective use of Common Service Centre services; 4 programmes conducted for capacity building of 105 BoDs / Secretaries of M-PACS with emphasis on good governance, professional management, business diversification and effective functioning of societies. • Village-level awareness programmes are being conducted to disseminate information regarding Government schemes, institutional credit, market linkages and business diversification. In Tamil Nadu, 560 such programmes have benefited 72,885 members, including 2,234 members from Vellore district. • NABARD has conducted various cooperative training programmes covering key areas such as women empowerment for PACS staff, preparation of Business Development Plans, the impact of NPAs on the financial health of PACS, and corporate governance in PACS. During FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26, a total of 578 such cooperative training programmes were conducted in Tamil Nadu, including Vellore, training 15,635 officials. • Financial and technical assistance is also available through the National Cooperative Development Corporation for eligible cooperative projects in agriculture, dairy, fisheries, handloom, marketing, processing, storage and allied sectors, subject to prescribed eligibility conditions and project appraisal. The details of financial assistance in the State of Tamil Nadu during last five years by NCDC is provided at Annexure-B *** Page 3 of 5Annexure-A Sector-wise number of cooperative societies in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu No. Sector Total Number Number of of Societies Functional Societies 1 Agriculture & Allied Cooperative 4 1 2 Agro Processing / Industrial Cooperative 9 3 3 Consumer Cooperative 7 7 4 Credit & Thrift Society 32 30 5 Dairy Cooperative 171 160 6 Fishery Cooperative 5 5 7 Handloom Textile & Weavers Cooperative 36 36 8 Housing Cooperative Society 15 7 9 Marketing Cooperative Society 2 2 10 Multipurpose Cooperative 1 0 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies 55 55 12 (SPuAgCarS M/LiAllsM CPoSo/pFeSrSa)ti ve 1 1 13 Urban Cooperative Bank (UCB) 3 3 14 Women Welfare Cooperative Society 4 4 Total 345 314 Source: NCD portal as on 15.07.2026. Page 4 of 5Annexure-B Last 5 Years Activity wise Disbursement in the state of Tamil Nadu (Rs in Crore ) S. Activity 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 2025- 2026-27 No. 22 23 24 25 26 (as on 31.07.2026) 1 SERVICE COOP. 16.42 0.52 - - - - 2 I C D P 33.90 17.60 1.43 - - - 3 DAIRY & LIVE STOCK - 9.33 - 15.50 12.49 - 4 FPO 0.38 2.34 2.53 2.50 3.03 0.65 5 FISHERIES 0.04 0.57 0.17 0.40 300.00 - 6 FISHERIES FPO (FFPO) - 0.12 0.15 5.78 9.29 0.02 Total 50.74 30.48 4.28 24.18 324.81 0.67 Page 5 of 5