Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that India has 8.53 lakh cooperative societies, of which 6.63 lakh are functional, 1.41 lakh are non-functional, and 49,177 are under liquidation, according to the National Cooperative Database (NCD) as on July 15, 2026.
Replying to a question in the House, Shah said 3.56 lakh functional cooperatives are profit-making, while 2.50 lakh are running at a loss. Financial information is unavailable for 56,689 societies.
The Minister said the Ministry of Cooperation is actively promoting the conversion of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperatives into multipurpose cooperative societies to diversify business activities, improve financial sustainability and reduce the risk of closure.
Shah added that the National Cooperative Database is being used to identify gaps in the geographical spread of cooperatives, facilitate the formation of new multipurpose cooperatives and support the development of a Cooperative Ranking Framework to encourage healthy competition.
He also informed the Rajya Sabha that the Ministry has established the Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund under the amended Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2023, to revive sick multi-state cooperative societies and strengthen their infrastructure.
