On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced several significant initiatives within the Cooperative Sector at an event hosted at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. Prime Minister inaugurated the pilot project of ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’ which is being implemented across 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in 11 states.
Addressing the gathering, Union Minister for Cooperation and Home, Amit Shah, expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for enabling investments aimed at reinforcing PACS. “To strengthen PACS, PM Modi ji has invested Rs 2,500 crores. I thank Modi ji for this. Today 18 thousand PACS are being launched. Along with this, the world’s largest grain storage scheme is also being started.”
Th Prime minister laid the foundation stone for an additional 500 PACS across the country for the construction of godowns and other agri infrastructure under this initiative. The objective of this endeavor is to integrate PACS godowns with the food grain supply chain, enhancing food security and promoting economic growth in the nation through a joint initiative supported by NABARD and led by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
The initiative is being implemented through the intersection of various existing schemes like the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agriculture Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), etc. It aims to allow PACS involved in the project to access subsidies and interest rate reduction benefits for carrying out infrastructure development.
Aligning with the government’s vision of ‘Sahakar se Samridhi’ targeted at rejuvenating the cooperative sector and empowering small and marginal farmers, the Prime Minister also introduced a project for computerization in 18,000 PACS across the country. The monumental project has been approved with a financial outlay of more than Rs 2,500 crore.
This initiative entails migrating all operational PACS to a unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) based national software, guaranteeing smooth integration and connectivity. By establishing links between these PACS and NABARD via State Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks, the objective of the project is to improve the operational efficiency and governance of PACS, thereby benefiting millions of small and marginal farmers. NABARD has designed the National Level Common Software specifically for this initiative, customized to address the varied requirements of PACS nationwide.
The orientation of 18,000 PACS on ERP software has been completed, noting a significant milestone in the project’s execution.
Shah also hailed PM Modi for ‘transforming’ the Cooperative sector. “There was a long-standing demand from governments of various parties that a separate ministry for cooperation should be established. But unfortunately, for years, no one paid attention to this concern, no one cared to address this. But when PM Modi Ji took command, he transformed this very field,” Shah said.
“He fulfilled the long-cherished dream of cooperation sector and created a separate Ministry for the same,” he added. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda were also present at the event.
