1,611 new cooperative societies registered till July 15; computerisation of 708 PACS approved, 537 e-PACS made functional
Srinagar, Aug 06 (BuzzBytes): Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah has said the Central Government is following a multi-pronged strategy to strengthen the financial, administrative and operational capacity of cooperative institutions in Jammu and Kashmir so that their performance and sustainability can be enhanced.
In a written reply to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Sat Paul Sharma in the Rajya Sabha, Amit Shah stated that a total of 1,611 new cooperative societies have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir up to July 15, 2026. These include 232 multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, 1,339 dairy cooperative societies and 40 fisheries cooperative societies.
According to the , he said that in addition, 760 existing dairy cooperative societies and one fisheries cooperative society have also been strengthened.
Amit Shah said the revival of defunct cooperative societies is the responsibility of the concerned State Governments and Union Territory administrations, however the Ministry of Cooperation is taking various steps to build their capacity and make them functional.
He said that on January 24, 2025, the Ministry of Cooperation introduced a “Cooperative Ranking Framework”, under which cooperative societies are assessed on criteria such as audit, financial performance and management capacity so that effective measures can be taken for their improvement.
According to Amit Shah, the Ministry of Cooperation is providing institutional support in Jammu and Kashmir through computerisation and digital profiling of PACS, implementation of model bye-laws, establishment of new multipurpose, dairy and fisheries cooperative societies, diversification of business activities, capacity building and through the branch office of the National Cooperative Development Corporation.
According to the , he said Jammu and Kashmir has also been brought into the operational system of the Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited so that organised procurement of milk, promotion of modern dairy practices and better market access can be ensured.
The Union Minister said that under the centrally sponsored PACS computerisation project, 708 PACS in Jammu and Kashmir have been approved for computerisation. Up to July 15, 2026, hardware has been provided to 537 PACS and they have been connected to the national ERP platform and declared as e-PACS.
He further said that office bearers of PACS are also being trained on the ERP system, better governance, business planning, availing of government schemes and diversification of business activities.
Amit Shah said that in order to provide better services to people in far-flung and border areas, PACS are also being made functional as Common Service Centres and as centres for banking, insurance and agricultural services, while linkages are also being established between them and cooperative institutions dealing with national-level exports, organic products and quality seeds—(BuzzBytes)
