Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the National Mega Conclave on the launching of Common Services Centre (CSC) services by Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in New Delhi. The event witnessed the presence of other prominent dignitaries, including Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnav, and many others.
Amit Shah highlighted the significance of the integration between PACS and CSC in fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to strengthen cooperatives and promote Digital India. The move aims to eliminate corruption from governance through CSC under the Digital India Mission while also taking essential facilities to the doorsteps of the underprivileged, thereby empowering the rural economy.
Shah emphasized the importance of strengthening the smallest unit of the cooperative movement, which is PACS, to achieve the broader goal. To this end, the government has decided to computerize PACS, making them transparent, accountable, and modernized. With Prime Minister Modi's guidance, the Ministry of Cooperation received Rs. 2,500 crore for the computerization of 65,000 PACS within just 20 days of the Ministry's formation.
The Union Minister of Cooperation underlined the pivotal role of CSC in implementing the formula of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance with last mile delivery but without Corruption.' More than 300 small beneficiary schemes of the Government of India and State Governments have been integrated with CSC, making it an effective means to reach the poorest in rural areas, including landless agricultural laborers and marginalized communities.
The integration of PACS and CSC is expected to enhance the facilities available to the rural poor and infuse new energy into the rural economy. The efforts aim to utilize the maximum potential for the country's development, especially considering that 60-65% of the population resides in villages. Amit Shah commended the successful registration of 17,176 PACS in CSC, marking a significant achievement in a short span of two months. He further stated that approximately 6,670 PACS have already started functioning, and the rest will follow suit within the next 15 days, providing employment opportunities to around 14,000 rural youth. These initiatives will not only strengthen the rural economy but also empower villages with essential services and facilities.
The Union Home Minister lauded the government's efforts in providing essential services like ration, housing, electricity, water, cooking gas, toilets, and health facilities free of cost to 60 crore people in the last 9 years. He emphasized that the newly integrated PACS will serve as a medium for providing registration for these facilities and addressing rural citizens' problems. Shah also highlighted the significant progress made under the Digital India mission, including the increase in internet users by 250 percent and the reduction of per GB data cost by 96 percent. Computerizing PACS has empowered them to function as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and has facilitated the formation of Multi-State Cooperative Societies for seed production, organic farming marketing, and farmers' produce export.
With these reforms, PACS can now engage in distribution work of LPG, diesel, petrol, open Fair Price Shops, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendras, and Fertilizer shops. This multi-dimensional approach is set to enhance the economic activities of villages and benefit farmers directly.
