Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has informed the Lok Sabha that 1,191 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in Himachal Pradesh are now functioning as Common Service Centres (CSCs), while 772 PACS have been upgraded into Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSKs), expanding their role beyond agricultural credit.
In a written reply on Tuesday, he said the Centre has not undertaken any independent assessment of Multi-Purpose PACS in the state. Instead, performance evaluation is carried out by the State Government under the Cooperative Ranking Framework, launched in January 2025.
The Minister said eight PACS are operating as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras, while 10 PACS function as Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). MoUs between HIMFED and national cooperative bodies have also been signed to promote aggregation, value addition and marketing of local produce.
Under the PACS Computerisation Project, 1,885 PACS have been sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh, hardware has been installed in 1,789 societies, and about ?41.10 crore has been utilized.
He added that the performance of PACS is reviewed regularly through State and District Cooperative Development Committees, while corrective measures are taken by the State Government based on local requirements and periodic assessments.
