More than 38,000 new cooperative societies have been registered across the country since 2023, taking the total number of functional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Dairy and Fisheries Cooperatives to over 2.5 lakh, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
In a written reply, He said 38,138 Multipurpose PACS, Dairy Cooperative Societies and Fisheries Cooperative Societies were registered between 2023 and July 15, 2026. These include 10,230 PACS, 25,552 Dairy Cooperative Societies and 2,356 Fisheries Cooperative Societies.
As on July 15, 2026, the country has 2,50,810 functional cooperatives, comprising 1,07,567 PACS, 1,19,852 dairy cooperatives and 23,391 fisheries cooperatives.
The Minister also informed the House that 3,383 cooperative societies are currently reported as non-operational. He attributed this to challenges such as the limited business scope of PACS, shortage of professional management, inadequate access to affordable institutional credit and lack of modern infrastructure.
The Ministry said the registration and day-to-day functioning of PACS continue to be governed by the respective State Cooperative Societies Acts, Rules and bye-laws, while reforms are being pursued to strengthen the cooperative ecosystem nationwide.
