Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha that West Bengal has a total of 32,128 cooperative societies, of which 22,953 are currently functional. The data comes from the National Cooperative Database as of 15 November 2025.
According to the district-wise figures, North 24 Parganas has the highest number of operational cooperatives at 5,227, followed by Murshidabad (1,507), East Medinipur (1,433), and Kolkata (1,412). Districts such as Purulia (474) and South 24 Parganas (993) reflect comparatively lower functional numbers.
Shah highlighted that the Ministry of Cooperation, established on 6 July 2021, has launched several initiatives to strengthen the cooperative sector in West Bengal and nationwide. Key reforms include the computerisation of more than 79,000 PACS, introduction of Model Byelaws allowing PACS to undertake over 25 business activities, and the rollout of White Revolution 2.0 to expand dairy cooperative coverage.
Additionally, cooperative banks have been notified as MLIs under the CGTMSE Scheme, and NCDC has financed ethanol-related projects by releasing funds to 56 cooperative sugar mills. NABARD is also conducting capacity-building programs to train PACS on the new e-PACS software.
Shah said these initiatives aim to advance the government’s vision of “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi”, ensuring stronger, transparent, and more efficient cooperatives in West Bengal.
