A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday, between Ministry of Cooperation and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology which will enable 63,000 functional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to provide services already offered by Common Service Centres (CSCs).
As per the MoU, PACS will be able to function as CSCs and offer more than 300 services to the rural population including their 13 crore farmer-members. The government also plans to allow PACS to provide all the services listed on the Digital Seva Portal of CSC scheme to citizens, including banking, insurance, Aadhaar enrolment/update, legal services, agri-inputs like farm equipment, PAN card as well as Rail, Bus and Air ticket related services. The pan-India roll out of a common software being developed for PACS will also be used for CSCs.
There are over 4 lakh Common Service Centres (CSC) currently in operation whereas the Centre targets to create 2 lakh additional PACS in the next five years.
Access points
Under the Digital India Programme, CSCs are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services. These local level units, also offer a host of B2C services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country, helping the government’s mandate of a socially, financially and digitally inclusive society.
Speaking after the MoU was signed, Co-operation Minister Amit Shah said that PACS are the soul of co-operatives and making them multipurpose as providers of about 20 services will increase employment opportunities in rural areas. He said the role and contribution of PACS in rural and agricultural development is very important.
Calling for making co-operatives the backbone of rural development, he said the MoU will also strengthen both cooperatives and farmers as it will help in advancing the concept of CSC to the smallest unit of the country very easily.
New dimensions
Shah further said about 50 per cent of the country’s population is associated with co-operatives in one way or the other and keeping in view the development of such a large sector, a separate Ministry of Cooperation has been created. As making PACS viable is the biggest problem before the government, a new beginning has been made by adding many new dimensions to their functioning.
Highlighting that PACS will now be able to undertake 20 different activities including water distribution, storage, Bank Mitra, he said that the first and foremost task is to make the CSCs provided services available to the rural population.
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Cooperation BL Verma were also present on the occasion.