New Delhi, February 03, 2026: The Government of India has approved the plan to establish new multipurpose PACS/dairy/fisheries cooperatives, aiming to cover all panchayats and villages in the country over the next five years.
As per the National Cooperative Database, a total of 32,802 new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered; and 15,793 Dairy and Fisheries Cooperative Societies have been strengthened as on 20.01.2026 across the country.
Independent or third-party evaluation of the newly formed multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperatives have not been contemplated, yet, The Government undertakes State-wise and regional analysis using the National Cooperative Database (NCD) to identify gaps in cooperative coverage, including aspirational districts and underserved regions.
As per the information given by Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah in a written reply in Lok Sabha, as on date, out of 79,630 PACS sanctioned out of which 61,478 PACS have been digitized and have been facilitated to undertake initiatives such as Shared Core Banking Solutions (CBS), AePS, UPI, and digital platforms for cooperative banking have also been rolled out to modernise cooperative financial services.
The Model Bye-laws for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) have been developed and circulated to all States and Union Territories to transform PACS into multipurpose, inclusive and transparent institutions. These Bye-laws provide for broad-based membership and ensure adequate representation of women and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in cooperative governance.
Further, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 mandates reservation of two seats for women and one seat for SC/ST members on the boards of multi-State cooperative societies. The National Cooperation Policy (NCP) 2025 also emphasizes promotion of membership and leadership roles for women and weaker sections.
The Model Bye-laws enable PACS to function as multipurpose service centres, allowing small and marginal farmers to access affordable credit, quality inputs and allied services at a single point, and to benefit from activities such as warehousing, custom hiring centres and primary processing, thereby improving income realization. Support for women and SHGs is further strengthened through schemes such as Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojana for onward lending to Women SHGs and Nandini Sahakar for promoting women-led cooperatives.
