Examine the role of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) digitisation in strengthening rural cooperative credit delivery in India.

Q. Examine the role of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) digitisation in strengthening rural cooperative credit delivery in India. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

PACS form the lowest tier of the short-term cooperative credit structure, with 1,12,895 PACS registered and 1,07,457 functional as of July 2026 [1]. Long weakened by manual accounting and opacity, they are being revived through the Computerisation Project, now a core plank of the National Cooperation Policy, 2025 [1].

How digitisation strengthens credit delivery - Scale and coverage: 79,630 PACS are covered under the project with an enhanced outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore; over 61,000 are already onboarded on a common ERP-based national software [3]. - Institutional linkage: ERP onboarding links PACS with NABARD through State and District Central Cooperative Banks, enabling faster refinance flow and real-time monitoring of crop loans [3]. - Transparency and accountability: online accounting and audit trails curb leakages, ghost members and benami borrowing, addressing the credibility deficit that eroded member trust [3]. - Service diversification: integration with PM-KISAN, PMFBY, PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras, PDS outlets and Common Service Centres converts PACS from single-window lenders into multipurpose rural service centres, widening their revenue base [3][4]. - Policy anchoring: NCP-2025's 6 pillars, 16 objectives and 83 recommendations target bringing 50 crore people into the cooperative fold, with digitisation as the delivery backbone [1][2].

Persisting constraints - Uneven progress across States, since cooperation is a State subject, causing variable data quality and adoption. - Weak connectivity, limited digital literacy among PACS staff, and dormant or loss-making societies outside the ERP net [1]. - Continued dependence on scheme convergence rather than dedicated financing.

Digitisation has thus shifted PACS from ledger-bound village bodies toward a transparent, interoperable rural credit network. Sustaining this requires continuous staff capacity-building, cyber-security safeguards and Centre-State coordination through the Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee [5]. Aligned with Sahkar-se-Samriddhi, a digitally empowered PACS network can make rural credit both inclusive and accountable.

(~305 words)

Sources: 1. Implementation of National Cooperation Policy, 2025 — PIB — PACS numbers (1,12,895 registered / 1,07,457 functional), NCP structure and 50-crore membership target, digitisation as implementation priority 2. Amit Shah unveils National Cooperative Policy - 2025, New Delhi — PIB — 6 pillars, 16 objectives, 83 recommendations; Sahkar-se-Samriddhi vision 3. Integration of PACS computerisation project software with other National portals — PIB — 79,630 PACS covered, ₹2,925.39 crore outlay, 61,478 onboarded on ERP, NABARD–StCB–DCCB linkage, portal integrations 4. Strengthening PACS and Multipurpose Cooperatives — PIB — conversion of PACS into multipurpose rural service centres 5. Review of National Cooperation Policy, 2025 — PIB — Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee reviewing PACS computerisation and the national cooperative database