The Belagavi District Central Cooperative Bank (DCCB) has taken several steps to strengthen and digitise Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, Union Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Shah said that out of 1,158 sanctioned PACS in Belagavi district, hardware has been delivered to all societies, while Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions have been implemented in 1,004 PACS to improve digital operations.
According to information provided by the state government, all 1,158 PACS have been equipped with digital infrastructure including desktops, multifunction devices (printer, scanner and copier), physical VPN devices, biometric scanners and UPS systems. Out of these, 743 PACS are functioning as Common Service Centres (CSCs), providing various services to rural residents.
The minister also said staff members in all PACS have been trained in digital accounting and financial operations.
Further, the Belagavi District Central Cooperative Bank has initially provided micro-ATMs to 100 PACS to enable seamless fund transfers and is working to bring all PACS in the district under its Business Correspondent network.
Additionally, under the Agri Infrastructure Fund of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, 165 PACS in the district have received loans through the bank to create storage facilities, while 200 PACS are operating as Kisan Samriddhi Kendras supplying fertilizers and agricultural inputs to farmers.