To fulfill the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahkar se Samridhi’, the Ministry of Cooperation, under the guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, is making every possible effort for the welfare of the stakeholders associated with cooperative sector. In this regard, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah held a meeting with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas agreed to convert existing Wholesale Consumer Licensed Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) into retail outlets. Under this, the existing PACS will be given a one-time option to convert their wholesale consumer pumps into retail outlets, provided they fulfill all the requirements for setting up retail outlets in rural areas, including statutory approvals and other permissions.
On the initiative of the Ministry of Cooperation, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken several steps to strengthen PACS and cooperative sugar mills in the country, such as-
· PACS will be given priority in allotment of new petrol/diesel dealerships – this will strengthen cooperative movement
• Eligibility of PACS approved for LPG distributorship – PACS will become the economic hub of rural development
• Option to convert existing Wholesale Consumer Licensed PACS into Retail Outlet – PACS will become a strong empowered entity
• Priority will be given for the purchase of ethanol produced by cooperative sugar mills
• Now PACS will also be able to set up and operate retail outlets
In addition to the above, rules will also be changed by the Ministry of Petroleum to make PACS eligible for LPG distributorship. It has also been decided that PACS will be considered under the Combined Category -2(CC 2) along with the freedom fighter and sports quota in allotment of new petrol/diesel dealerships. Under the Ethanol Blending Program, the Ministry of Petroleum will ensure that cooperative sugar mills are given priority for ethanol procurement at par with other private companies.
To strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, the Ministry of Cooperation, under the guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, has also taken several other important steps to strengthen the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), such as Model Bylaws for PACS. By accepting these Model Bylaws,around 1 lakh PACS across the country will become the pivot of rural economic development andwill be able to function as multi-dimensional units. They will help in increasing the income of more than 13 crore farmers of the country through more than 25 activities.
Further in the direction of empowerment of PACS, under the Centrally Sponsored Project of Ministry of Cooperation, the Computerization of PACS is currently going on, which will enable PACS to be linked with NABARD through national software. Along with this, Ministry of Cooperation has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, under which more than 300 e-services of CSCs will be made available to the people in rural areas through PACS. Apart from this, the Ministry of Cooperation has also set a target of setting up 2 lakh Multipurpose PACS and Primary Dairy/Fisheries Cooperative Societies covering all Panchayats/Villages in the next five years. The cooperative societies have also been included as ‘buyers’ and various schemes of Government of India are also being decentralized at the level of PACS.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the steps being taken by the Ministry of Cooperation will help in strengthening the PACS as well as converting them into multipurpose economic units, which will provide regular sources of income to crores of farmers of the country. Shri Amit Shah expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his continuous support in expanding the coverage of cooperative sector and strengthening it.
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