Centrally Sponsored Project “Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)
1. The Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) constitute the lowest tier of the three-tier Short-term cooperative credit (STCC) in the country comprising approx.13 Cr. farmers as its members, which is crucial for
the development of the rural economy. The other two tiers viz. State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) have already been automated by the NABARD and brought on Common Banking Software (CBS). However, majority of PACS have so far been not computerized and still functioning manually. Therefore, a project has been launched to computerise all the operational PACS throughout the Country.
2. A Centrally Sponsored Project on ‘Computerization of PACS’ has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) 29th June, 2022. This project envisages computerization of about 63,000 functional PACS over a period of 5 years with a total budget outlay of Rs. 2516 Cr with a central share of Rs. 1528 Cr. Out of the total budget for the project, the shares of Government of India, State Governments and NABARD are Rs. 1528 crore, Rs. 736 crore and Rs. 252 crore respectively.
3. Computerization of PACS, besides serving the purpose of financial inclusion and strengthening service delivery to farmers especially Small & Marginal Farmers, will bring transparency, efficiency, enhance trustworthiness in the working of PACS among farmers. A single ERP based software will be developed at National level which will enable PACS to digitize its services and link them with DCCBs and STCBs. It will ensure speedy disposal of loans, lower transition cost, faster audit and reduction in imbalances in payments and accounting with State Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks.