PM to inaugurate, lay foundation stone of multiple key initiatives for cooperative sector

PTI, Feb 22, 2024, 6:16 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple key initiatives for the Cooperative sector on Saturday at Bharat Mandapam here, his office said.

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the pilot project of ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’, which is being done in 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) of 11 states.

In a major step to strengthen the cooperative sector of the country, the prime minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple key initiatives for the Cooperative sector on February 24, 2024 at 10.30 am at Bharat Mandapam, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of additional 500 PACS across the country for construction of godowns and other agri infrastructure under the ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’.

This initiative aims to seamlessly integrate PACS godowns with the food grain supply chain, fortifying food security and fostering economic development in the country with a collaborative effort supported by NABARD and spearheaded by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

This initiative is being implemented through convergence of various existing schemes like the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agriculture Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), etc. to enable PACS participating in the project to avail subsidies and interest subvention benefits for undertaking infrastructure development, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate project for computerization in 18,000 PACS across the country, aligning with the government’s vision of ”Sahakar se Samridhi” aimed at rejuvenating the cooperative sector and empowering small and marginal farmers, it said.

The monumental project has been approved with a financial outlay of more than Rs 2,500 crore.

This initiative involves transitioning all functional PACS onto a unified Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) based national software, ensuring seamless integration and connectivity.

By linking these PACS with NABARD through state cooperative banks and district central cooperative banks, the project aims to enhance the operation efficiency and governance of PACS, thus benefiting crores of small and marginal farmers.

NABARD has developed the National Level Common Software for this project, tailored to meet the diverse needs of PACS across the country. Onboarding of 18,000 PACS on ERP software has been completed, marking a significant milestone in the project’s implementation, according to the statement.