NEW DELHI: Proposals for the creation of a new primary agricultural credit company (PACS) of 2 lakhs more across the country in the next five years, Minister of Interior and Cooperation Amit Shah Friday said the PACS they are the soul of the agricultural credit system and therefore it is necessary to strengthen them by increasing their number from 95,000 to about 3 lakhs.
“If the number of PACS reaches 3 lakh panchayat in the country, the distribution of agricultural funding of Rs 10 lakh crore could be possible through cooperativesShah said during a speech at a national conference on rural cooperative banks.
“With the strengthening of the foundation of the 3 lakh PACS, the district cooperative banks will be strengthened, which in turn will lead to the strengthening of the state cooperative banks,” said Shah.
Currently, there are 63,000 functional PACS out of a total of 95,000 credit companies in the country, providing agricultural funding of Rs 2 lakh crore. PACS constitute the lowest tier of three tier short-term cooperative credit in the country which includes around 13 million farmers as its members, which is crucial for the development of the rural economy.
Noting the Cabinetthe recent approval for computerization of approximately 63,000 PACS to improve their efficiency and bring transparency and accountability into their operations, Shah said: “Computing is a medicine for 100 diseases … This will help in updating their resources human resources and the accounting system. ”
Shah said the cooperation ministry presented a draft “PACS model statute”, inviting suggestions from state governments and other interested parties.
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