The Centrally Sponsored PACS Computerisation Project, initially approved for 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, has been expanded to cover 79,630 PACS with a total outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore.
65,875 PACS have received hardware and 63,686 have been onboarded onto the common ERP-based National Software.
Under the related World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector, 1,015 PACS have been identified for godowns, with construction completed at 313, creating 1.80 LMT capacity.
NCEL has exported over 14.89 lakh MT of 50 agricultural products worth ₹5,866.10 crore to 38 countries since inception.
Information was given by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah in a written Rajya Sabha reply.
Central-level implementing/project-management agency for PACS Computerisation; had earlier automated State and District Central Cooperative Banks on Common Banking Software
Build agri-infrastructure (warehouses, custom hiring centres, processing units, Fair Price Shops) at PACS level
Key: Approved 31.05.2023; converges AIF, AMI, SMAM, PMFME and other existing central schemes
Umbrella body for exporting goods/services produced by cooperative societies, mostly small/marginal farmers
Key: Exported over 14.89 lakh MT of 50 agri products worth ₹5,866.10 crore to 38 countries
PACS form the base, village-level tier of India's three-tier Short-Term Cooperative Credit (STCC) structure, sitting below District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and State Cooperative Banks (StCBs). Around 13 crore farmers are PACS members, and PACS disburse a substantial share of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans. The Computerisation Project links PACS to NABARD via DCCBs/StCBs on a Common ERP-based Software for accounting, statutory audit and MIS, improving transparency and enabling PACS to diversify into storage, retail and other services beyond credit.
Simple Analogy: PACS are the village 'branch counter' of the rural cooperative banking pyramid — the first point of contact for a farmer's loan, below the district and state cooperative banks.
PACS disburse a large share of KCC loans, making their computerisation directly relevant to farm credit delivery
A separate Union Ministry carved out specifically to strengthen the cooperative movement, of which PACS reform is a flagship initiative
A parallel Ministry of Cooperation initiative applying the same cooperative-strengthening approach to dairy societies
GS Paper 3 > Indian Economy > Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Sector
Recurring — PACS digitisation progress features regularly in Parliament replies as onboarding continues
The common Enterprise Resource Planning software onboarding all functional PACS for standardised accounting, audit and MIS
Short-Term Cooperative Credit structure — PACS (village) → DCCB (district) → StCB (state)