National Cooperative Database to help map PACS for policymaking: Amit Shah
Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the National Cooperative Database on Friday, emphasizing its importance in policymaking. Shah blamed the decline in the cooperative sector after 1975 on imbalanced growth, citing the fact that up to 25% of gram panchayats lack a single Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
“After the separate cooperation ministry was created from the agriculture ministry (two years ago), some people discussed the reasons for the cooperative sector’s decline. It was discovered that growth in the cooperative sector stalled after 1965 and began to decline from 1975 onward,” Shah explained.
Imbalanced growth
Furthermore, he noted that several district cooperative banks had to be liquidated and that many PACS had gone bankrupt in recent years. According to Shah, there was imbalanced growth not only geographically but also across various segments within the cooperative structure. “There was an imbalance in its functionality and also community-based development,” he went on to say.
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The minister also stated that 75% of PACS are affiliated with any district cooperative bank, while the remaining 25% are yet to be connected. The National Database contains information on approximately 8 lakh cooperatives, the majority of which are PACS or primary societies, with a combined membership of nearly 30 crore.
Shah stated that the database would aid in the development of the cooperative sector. “There is so much valuable information there that if you dig deep enough, you will find a pearl,” he said, adding that the information will be extremely useful not only to policymakers but also to researchers.
In a phased manner
Cooperative data was collected from various stakeholders and entered into the National Cooperative Database in phases. The first phase involved mapping approximately 2.64 lakh primary cooperative societies across three sectors: PACS, Dairy, and Fisheries.
In the second phase, data from various National Federations, State Federations, State Cooperative Banks (StCB), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (SCARDB), Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (PCARDB), Cooperative Sugar Mills, District Unions, and Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) were gathered.
In the third phase, data from over 5.3 lakh primary cooperative societies, including PACS, were mapped from all other sectors via the offices of various state government agencies, including district registrars.
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Shah stated that it is more than just a compilation; the data of cooperative societies has been validated by states and union territories. Federation data was provided by various national and state federations. Cooperative societies provide information on a variety of parameters, including their registered name, date, location, number of members, sectoral information, area of operation, economic activities, financial statements, and status of the audit.
According to an official statement, the National Cooperative Database provides numerous benefits that contribute to the cooperative sector’s efficiency and effectiveness, including single-point access, comprehensive and up-to-date data, a user-friendly interface, vertical and horizontal linkages, query-based reports and graphs, Management Information System (MIS) reports, data analytics, and geographic mapping.
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