Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced on Friday that 17,176 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) have been registered as Common Service Centres (CSCs) in less than two months. These CSCs will provide over 300 services to rural citizens, including 130 million farmers in India. The services offered include banking, insurance, and Aadhaar enrollment.
In June, the Ministry of Cooperation signed an MoU with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, NABARD, and CSC e-governance services to enable PACS to work with CSCs effectively. With approximately 95,000 PACS spread across the country, the goal is to onboard all of them for CSC operations.
Apart from essential services like banking and insurance, PACS will also offer health services, legal assistance, and various Pradhan Mantri Welfare Schemes to rural citizens.
At the inauguration of the mega national conclave on CSC services through PACS, Minister Amit Shah expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Ministry of Cooperation and the entire team for the significant achievement of onboarding more than 17,000 PACS within a short span of two months.
Minister Shah emphasized that out of one lakh existing PACS, 17,000 have already registered themselves as CSCs, with 6,670 PACS already carrying out transactions. He believes that the remaining registered PACS will also begin transactions in the coming weeks. This achievement will generate employment for around 14,000 rural youth, who will contribute to strengthening the rural economy and facilities in villages.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, also present at the event, noted that the number of active CSCs has increased from 83,000 in 2014 to an impressive 519,000.
Minister Shah outlined the objective of making PACS affordable for all entities at the rural level, aiming to establish around 300,000 new PACS in the next few years. He believes that CSCs are the key to achieving “minimum government, maximum governance with last-mile delivery but without corruption.”
The integration of over 300 small-to-small schemes with CSCs will enhance facilities for the poor and infuse new energy and strength into the rural economy, according to Minister Shah. The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will leverage the computerization of PACS to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability in their operations while encouraging them to diversify their businesses and engage in multiple other services.