The Union Minister of Cooperation and Home Affairs, Amit Shah, informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that Gujarat has 86,519 cooperative societies as of January 20, 2026, according to the National Cooperative Database.
Replying to a question in the Upper House, the Minister said the Ministry of Cooperation, since its inception in July 2021, has taken several initiatives to realise the vision of “Sahakar se Samriddhi”, aimed at strengthening and modernising cooperatives across the country.
A major initiative highlighted was the computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) through a national ERP-based software. Against 79,630 PACS sanctioned nationwide, 61,478 PACS have already been onboarded, under a project with a total outlay of Rs 2,925.39 crore.
The Minister also referred to the introduction of Model Byelaws for PACS, enabling diversification into activities such as storage, processing, LPG distribution and Common Service Centres, along with improved governance standards.
Capacity building has been a key focus, with 16,404 training programmes conducted for over 10.11 lakh participants through institutions under the National Council for Co-operative Training (NCCT). In Gujarat alone, the URICM, Gandhinagar, trained 47,552 participants between 2021 and 2025.
Shah further noted financial assistance provided for cooperative awareness programmes, PACS training through the CSC portal, and capacity building for new Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies, along with initiatives such as the World’s largest decentralized grain storage plan and the establishment of Tribhuvan Sahkari University.
