24 March 2026·PIB

Strengthening Cooperative

In this note

1. At a Glance

Strengthening Cooperative refers to the basket of initiatives by the Ministry of Cooperation (created July 2021) to revitalise India's cooperative ecosystem under the slogan "Sahkar se Samriddhi" [1][4].
Flagship pillars: Computerisation of PACS, 2 lakh new multipurpose PACS/Dairy/Fisheries societies, and the World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector [1][2][3].
Examinable for GS-II (Govt schemes) and GS-III (Agriculture, food security, cooperative federalism).

PIB release (24 Mar 2026) reiterated rollout status of the World's Largest Grain Storage Plan as a pilot, with 9,750 MT decentralised storage already created at 11 PACS across 11 States [3].
Target to complete godown construction in 500+ identified PACS by December 2026 [3].

6 July 2021: Ministry of Cooperation carved out of Ministry of Agriculture; Shri Amit Shah became first Cooperation Minister [1].
29 June 2022: Cabinet approved Computerisation of PACS as Centrally Sponsored Scheme [2].
31 May 2023: Cabinet approved World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector as a pilot [3].
15 Feb 2023: Cabinet approved Plan for 2 lakh new PACS/Dairy/Fisheries societies over 5 years [2].

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India [1][3].
Constitutional basis: Cooperatives — 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011; Part IX-B; Article 43-B (DPSP — promotion of cooperative societies).
Computerisation of PACS: Originally 63,000 PACS / ₹2,516 cr; expanded to 79,630 PACS / ₹2,925.39 cr; deadline 31 March 2027 [2].
2 Lakh PACS Plan split:
NABARD: 22,750 (Phase-1) + 47,250 (Phase-2) PACS [2].
NDDB: 56,500 new + strengthen 46,500 dairy societies [2].
NFDB: 6,000 new fisheries cooperative societies [2].
States: 25,000 PACS [2].
World's Largest Grain Storage Plan:
Convergence of AIF, AMI, SMAM, PMFME schemes [3].
Pilot in 11 States (Maharashtra, UP, TN, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP, Uttarakhand, Assam, Telangana, Tripura, Rajasthan) [3].
9,750 MT decentralised capacity created so far [3].
10,000 M-PACS, Dairy & Fisheries societies inaugurated by HM Amit Shah (PIB release referenced) [1].

Economic

Aims to lift India's grain storage capacity closer to annual production (~310 MT) — currently storage gap forces post-harvest losses [3].
Convergence with AIF (₹1 lakh cr fund) unlocks subsidised credit for PACS-level godowns/processing [3].

Administrative

Single common ERP-based national software with CAS & MIS brings PACS onto a uniform digital backbone [2].
Centre–State–NABARD–NDDB–NFDB convergence under Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) chaired by Cooperation Minister [3].

Social

PACS as multipurpose entities: godowns, custom hiring, Fair Price Shops, processing — diversifies rural livelihoods [3].
Targets coverage of every Panchayat/village lacking a cooperative society [2].

Federal / Constitutional

Cooperatives are a State subject (Entry 32, List II) — Centre uses convergence/incentives, not direct legislation, post the SC striking down parts of 97th Amendment in Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021) for state societies.

Food Security

Decentralised storage at PACS reduces transport cost to FCI silos and post-harvest losses; supports PDS through co-located FPS [3].

24 Mar 2026: PIB statement — pilot godowns operational in 11 PACS/11 States; 9,750 MT created [3].
2025 Year-Ender (Ministry of Cooperation) reaffirmed "Sahkar se Samriddhi" with progress on 2 lakh PACS rollout [1].
HM Amit Shah inaugurated 10,000 newly established M-PACS / Dairy / Fisheries societies in New Delhi [1].
Computerisation outlay revised upward to ₹2,925.39 cr covering 79,630 PACS [2].

Ministry of Cooperation created in July 2021 [1].
Article 43-B (DPSP) and Part IX-B relate to cooperative societies (97th Amendment, 2011).
World's Largest Grain Storage Plan approved on 31 May 2023 [3].
Pilot states include Tripura and Assam (often-missed NE inclusion) [3].
Convergence schemes: AIF, AMI, SMAM, PMFME — NOT PMKSY or PM-KISAN [3].
Computerisation of PACS — Centrally Sponsored Scheme approved 29 June 2022, deadline 31 March 2027 [2].
NDDB target: 56,500 new dairy societies [2].
NFDB target: 6,000 fisheries cooperative societies [2].
Total expanded PACS computerisation outlay: ₹2,925.39 crore [2].
Decentralised storage created under pilot: 9,750 MT [3].
Common ERP software has CAS (Common Accounting System) and MIS modules [2].
MoU signatories for PACS computerisation: Ministry of Cooperation, MeitY, NABARD, CSC e-Governance [1].

GS-II: Government policies & interventions; Cooperative federalism.
GS-III: Agriculture — storage, marketing, food processing; Food security & PDS.
Probable stems: 1. "Examine how the World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector addresses India's post-harvest losses and PDS bottlenecks." (GS-III) 2. "PACS computerisation is as much an exercise in cooperative federalism as in digital transformation. Discuss." (GS-II) 3. "Critically evaluate the rationale for a separate Ministry of Cooperation in light of cooperatives being a State subject." (GS-II)

97th Constitutional Amendment & SC ruling in Rajendra N. Shah (2021) — constitutional contour of cooperatives.
NABARD, NDDB, NFDB — institutional architecture.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) — convergence partner scheme.
PMFME Scheme — micro food processing linkage.
FCI & Decentralised Procurement — storage policy linkage.
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 — governance reform.
e-NAM — marketing infrastructure parallel.
Operation Flood / Anand Pattern — historical cooperative precedent.

Confusing Ministry of Cooperation (2021) with Ministry of Agriculture — they are separate.
Year of approval of Grain Storage Plan = 2023, not 2022 (when computerisation was approved).
Cooperatives are a State subject (Entry 32, List II); the Centre runs only convergence schemes — the 97th Amendment's Part IX-B applies only to multi-state cooperatives after the 2021 SC ruling.
PACS computerisation now covers 79,630 PACS, not the original 63,000 — outlay revised to ₹2,925.39 cr.
The plan is a convergence scheme — no fresh outlay; uses AIF/AMI/SMAM/PMFME funds.