Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has cumulatively disbursed Rs 5,74,090.48 crore for the development of cooperative institutions across the country, with Rs 3,96,763 crore released during the last five years alone.
Replying to a question in the Upper House, Shah said NCDC, a statutory body under the Ministry of Cooperation, provides financial assistance for cooperative development across a wide range of notified commodities and services.
The Corporation supports the creation of agricultural and allied infrastructure, value chain development and capacity building of cooperative institutions, thereby strengthening the cooperative movement across sectors.
The Minister said the government is placing strong emphasis on technology-driven and digitally enabled cooperative institutions. NCDC is supporting computerization and digitization of cooperative societies, digital accounting, Management Information Systems (MIS), capacity building, digital literacy programmes through LINAC, and the adoption of digital agricultural marketing platforms such as e-NAM by Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and cooperatives.
Highlighting the Centre’s digital push, Shah said the Project for Computerization of Functional PACS, with a revised outlay of Rs 2,925.39 crore, is bringing all functional PACS onto a common ERP-based National Software integrated with DCCBs, StCBs and NABARD.
The platform has improved governance, accounting, transparency and operational efficiency, while enabling faster loan processing, reducing transaction costs and expanding access to credit and other services for farmers, SHGs and FPOs.
He added that NABARD’s training and handholding support is helping PACS diversify into services such as CSCs, fertilizer distribution and soil health testing.
On evaluation of NCDC’s performance, Shah said no sector-specific assessment has been conducted, though scheme-specific evaluations have been undertaken by IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Lucknow for two major Central Sector schemes.
