The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the computerization of primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), with the goal of increasing their efficiency, bringing transparency and accountability to their operations and allowing them to diversify their business and undertake multiple activities and services.
This project proposes computerization of about 63,000 functional PACS over a 5-year period with a total budget outlay of Rs 25.16 billion, with the Government of India contributing Rs 15.28 billion.
The majority of PACS are still not computerised and operate manually, resulting in inefficiency and trust deficit. Some states have completed stand-alone and partial computerization of PACS. There is no uniformity in the software they use, and they are not linked to the DCCBs and StCBs.
Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs, has thanked Prime Minister Modi for this significant decision. In a series of tweets, Shah stated that ‘Sahakar Se Samridhi’ is more than just a slogan, but rather that the PM is determined to bring positive change to the lives of those associated with the cooperative sector.
The software will be made available in local languages for the convenience of the people.
