The Government has outlined a comprehensive expansion of the cooperative sector with a strong focus on women led enterprises rural credit delivery and agricultural infrastructure, Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha, detailing a multi layered strategy aimed at deepening inclusive growth across rural India.
Positioning cooperatives as a central pillar of participatory economic development, Amit Shah said the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation has enabled sharper policy focus on farmers women and grassroots institutions, particularly in economically weaker regions where access to finance markets and infrastructure remains limited.
A key priority area is the promotion of women led cooperative societies across sectors including dairy agriculture handicrafts and rural enterprises. The Government is supporting these initiatives through structured capacity building training programmes and financial assistance delivered in convergence with multiple ministries and institutional frameworks.
Under White Revolution 2.0, the Government is driving large scale expansion of the dairy cooperative network with a target of establishing 75000 new dairy cooperative societies while strengthening 46422 existing ones. These cooperatives are expected to significantly enhance rural incomes generate employment and expand women’s participation in the organised dairy value chain.
The National Cooperative Development Corporation, functioning under the Ministry of Cooperation, is implementing a set of targeted financial schemes to strengthen women led and Self Help Group linked cooperatives. The Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojana provides financial assistance for income generating activities and entrepreneurship development while enabling cooperatives to extend onward lending in the form of term loans and working capital to women Self Help Groups.
The Nandini Sahakar Scheme focuses on exclusive financial support to women led cooperatives in sectors such as dairy livestock food processing and allied activities, strengthening their ability to scale operations and integrate into formal markets.
The Yuva Sahakar Yojana is designed to encourage young women entrepreneurs to establish cooperative ventures in emerging sectors. The scheme offers concessional financing with a requirement of only 20 percent contribution from women led cooperatives, along with a 2 percent interest subvention on term loans, reducing entry barriers and promoting innovation.
Parallel to strengthening cooperative enterprises, the Government has intensified efforts to modernise Primary Agricultural Credit Societies and expand their role as multi service rural institutions. In Haryana, 32 PACS in Bhiwani district and 23 in Mahendergarh district are fully digitised and operating on ePACS software, with all societies conducting daily transactions digitally.
Across the state, 799 multipurpose PACS including those in Bhiwani and Mahendergarh have adopted Model Bye Laws, enabling them to diversify services beyond credit into fertiliser distribution storage and agricultural marketing, thereby transforming them into integrated rural service centres.
Under the PACS Computerisation Project, 710 societies in Haryana have been digitised to enhance operational efficiency improve transparency and accelerate credit delivery to farmers. This digital transition is complemented by the e Kisan Credit Card platform developed by NABARD, currently under pilot implementation in six states including Haryana, which enables end to end digital processing of agricultural loans.
To deepen financial inclusion, NABARD has supported Financial and Digital Literacy Camps through cooperative banks, aimed at increasing awareness among rural populations regarding credit access digital payments and government schemes. Additionally, grant assistance of 76 lakh rupees has been sanctioned during 2025 26 for formation and credit linkage of 1900 Joint Liability Groups, enabling small and marginal farmers and tenant cultivators to access institutional finance.
Significant emphasis has also been placed on strengthening rural storage infrastructure. Multiple initiatives including PACS as Multi Service Centre Scheme and Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme are being implemented to enhance storage capacity and reduce post harvest losses. Under the world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector, 45 PACS and cooperative societies in Haryana have been identified for infrastructure development.
To support credit flow, NABARD has extended short term refinance of 5817 crore rupees and long term refinance of 40 crore rupees during 2024 25 to cooperative banks in Haryana, ensuring liquidity support for agriculture and allied sectors.
Further, PACS are being encouraged to integrate with national level institutions such as National Cooperative Organics Limited and National Cooperatives Exports Limited to strengthen market linkages and enable better price realisation for farmers.
In addition to short term credit expansion, the Government has reinforced long term financing through the Dirghavadhi Krishak Punji Sahakar Yojana implemented by the National Cooperative Development Corporation. The scheme is aimed at ensuring uninterrupted credit flow for capital formation in agriculture and allied sectors, enabling cooperatives to invest in infrastructure diversification and value addition.
Eligibility under the scheme requires cooperatives to demonstrate financial stability operational continuity and profitability, with loans sanctioned following detailed appraisal and due diligence. Monitoring is conducted through 19 regional offices and 9 sub offices of the National Cooperative Development Corporation with periodic field inspections to ensure accountability and effective utilisation.
The scheme has recorded substantial financial activity with a total sanctioned amount of 5400.76 crore rupees over the last three financial years and disbursement of 2137 crore rupees. A significant acceleration was recorded in 2024 25 with sanctioned amount of 5000.76 crore rupees and disbursement of 2077 crore rupees, indicating increased uptake of long term cooperative financing.
A structured legal recovery mechanism is in place for defaults including recall notices action under the Negotiable Instruments Act proceedings under the SARFAESI Act and recourse to Debt Recovery Tribunals to safeguard financial discipline.
Amit Shah emphasised that the combined focus on women led cooperatives digital transformation of rural credit institutions expansion of dairy networks and long term capital financing is designed to create a resilient cooperative ecosystem capable of driving sustainable rural economic growth.
He stated that these measures are expected to enhance farmers access to credit strengthen rural livelihoods expand women’s economic participation and reinforce the cooperative sector as a critical engine of inclusive development.
