In a major step towards strengthening the cooperative sector of the country, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several major initiatives for the cooperative sector at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, today. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the pilot project of ‘World's Largest Grain Storage Scheme in Cooperative Sector’ in 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs) in 11 states. Along with this, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for an additional 500 PACSs across the country for the creation of godowns and other agriculture-related infrastructure and also inaugurated the project for computerization of 18,000 PACSs.

On this occasion, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Arjun Munda, Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Cooperation Shri BL Verma and many other dignitaries were present.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken several steps to infuse new life into the cooperative sector. He said that Prime Minister Modi accepted the decades-long demand of people of the cooperative sector to form a separate Ministry of Cooperation. Shri Shah said that demand for a separate Ministry of Cooperation was being raised as it is very important to bring changes in cooperative sector with the time. He said there is a need to keep cooperative sector relevant, modernize it and also make it transparent. He said that more than 54 initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Cooperation since its formation. He said that the cooperative sector is moving forward from PACS to APACS, with new enthusiasm by making new beginnings in every dimension. Shri Shah said that the cooperative sector has been given a new life after almost 125 years, due to the decision of Prime Minister Modi and it will continue to serve the country for the next 125 years.

Shri Amit Shah said that complete computerization of more than 18,000 PACSs is starting from today, its trial run has been conducted, legacy data has been computerized and with the inauguration by PM Modi, every transaction will be computerized from now on.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that when the proposal for computerization of 18,000 PACSs was submitted before the Union Cabinet on June 29, 2022, Prime Minister had expressed the hope that despite being difficult, this project would be implemented soon. Shri Shah said that in a very short time, computerization of 18,000 out of 65,000 PACSs has been completed and very soon 30,000 more PACSs will be computerised and dedicated to the people. He said that computerization of PACSs will not only bring transparency and modernize them but also create business opportunities.

Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Cooperation has prepared new bye-laws for PACSs and state governments, rising above party lines, have accepted and implemented them. He said that once the bye-laws are implemented, a PACS will be able to do 20 different activities. Now PACSs will be able to do the work of dairy, water management under Jal Jeevan Mission, join the blue revolution and will also be able to contribute in increasing the storage capacity. They will also be able to work as Common Service Centre (CSC), will be able to open cheap medicine and grain shops and will also be able to open and operate petrol pumps. Shri Shah said that through the new bye-laws, the process of linking PACSs with many other activities started and now with their computerization, the accounts of all activities will be integrated into single software. He said that this software is available in every language of the country and farmers can interact with it in their own language. He said that PM Modi has approved an expenditure of Rs.2500 crores on computerization of PACSs to strengthen them. Shri Shah exuded confidence that by August, 2024, all PACSs of the country will be computerized and connected with the software.

Shri Amit Shah said that today, the world's largest cooperative food grain storage scheme is being launched. He said that when the draft of this project was received from the Ministry of Cooperation, Prime Minister Modi discussed it, gave his suggestions and made a complete plan and then dedicated it to the farmers of the country. He said that before its implementation, the Prime Minister said that it is a new initiative which will incorporate many ministries, so it should first be implemented as a pilot project. After identifying and removing its shortcomings, it should be implemented till the grassroot level.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that as per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, pilot project in 11 PACSs has been completed and 11 godowns are being inaugurated. He said that the Group of Ministers formed during the implementation of the pilot project revised the plan a bit and today the bhoomi pujan of 500 godowns is also being done and, in a way, the work on 511 godowns is starting from today.

Shri Amit Shah said that in India, storage capacity with regards to food grain production is only 47%, whereas in USA it is 161%, Brazil 149%, Canada 130% and China 107%. He said that all over the world, the storage capacity is more than the production, and due to this, when the prices go down, the farmer can use the storage capacity to store his produce and easily get good price for the same. He said that earlier this facility was not available in India and Food Corporation of India had to shoulder this whole burden. Shri Shah said now thousands of PACSs will increase storage capacity through which we will achieve 100% storage capacity before 2027 and this will be done through cooperative sector.

Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that with the foresight and guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this scheme has been made completely scientific and most modern. He said that the godowns built under this scheme will be small, but will have racks, computerized system and all the means required for modern farming. Shri Shah said that these PACSs-linked godowns will also have drones, tractors, harvesting machines and fertilizer spraying machines. He said that all these facilities will be available to farmers on rental basis and it will strengthen the bond between PACSs and farmers, make PACSs more viable and our farming modern in the coming days.

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