The government’s plan to strengthen the cooperative movement across rural India has made significant progress, with 22,606 new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairies, and fishery cooperative societies registered across the country as of June 30, said Union Minister Amit Shah in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The initiative, approved on February 15, 2023, aims to establish two lakh multipurpose cooperative societies in five years, covering every panchayat and village.
The plan is being implemented through convergence of various central government schemes – such as the Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), and PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) – with support from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), and state governments. Importantly, the scheme uses the existing outlays of these programs and integrates them at the PACS level.
To guide this rollout, the Ministry of Cooperation launched a standard operating procedure (Margdarshika) on September 19, 2024. This document outlines clear targets, timelines, and responsibilities for all stakeholders.
