Cooperative Banking Reforms: Faster Loans Needed

New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI) With cooperative banking reforms emerging as a pressing concern, Union Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani on Thursday urged states to fast-track loan sanctioning and ensure funds are effectively utilised within the current financial cycle.

Speaking at the two-day 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' National Review Conference in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Bhutani stressed that bolstering cooperative institutions demands coordinated action and firm timelines -- not merely intent.

"Strengthening cooperative institutions requires coordinated action, timely decision-making and sustained commitment, particularly in areas where progress has been slower than expected," he said.

The conference, seventh in a series of national workshops held since October 2024, has brought together senior officials from the Centre, states and major cooperative institutions to review implementation of flagship initiatives under the ministry, an official statement said.

Discussions on the first day ranged across several critical areas. The opening review session examined the computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and Agricultural and Rural Development Banks(ARDBs) - covering quality monitoring, progress tracking and integration with national platforms such as Agri Stack, KCC and fertilizer systems.


Bhutani, while acknowledging considerable movement in the last six to nine months with respect to computerisation of PACS, cautioned that sustaining this progress beyond the scheme period ending March 2027 remains the central challenge.

"The momentum we have achieved must be converted into a sustainable system. States must recognise the long-term value of computerisation and carry it forward beyond the scheme," he said.

A separate session reviewed the World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in the cooperation sector with deliberations covering site selection, storage capacity planning, financing, eNWR-based systems and strategies to deepen cooperative participation in the storage ecosystem.

The conference also took stock of efforts to revive defunct PACS and diversify them into multi-service centres - offering seed distribution, fertilizer supply, Common Service Centres, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, digital services and e-wallet facilities.

Further discussions centred on credit flow through District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), cyber security, Aadhaar seeding, doorstep banking and technology adoption - reflecting the growing expectation that PACS evolve into robust grassroots service delivery institutions.

Bhutani underlined that the time for deliberation has passed. "The time has now come to ground these initiatives at the district level with clear, time-bound implementation plans," he said, calling for renewed convergence among stakeholders to bridge performance gaps and ensure targets translate into tangible outcomes on the ground.