What are Primary Agricultural Credit Societies? Can the cooperative push alone help in achieving the twin targets of boosting rural economy and mainstreaming small and marginal farmers?

Budget 2023 provided for digitisation of 13,000 PACS throughout India PACS: i) Cooperatives in rural areas for credit accessibility, availability and affordability ii) Hierarchical structure → DCCBS → UDSs → PACS → State Cooperative Societies iii) Established under State Cooperative Acts (Right under A-29 W and V-3 B) Cooperative push benefits for boosting rural economy: i) Inclusion of women and vulnerable sections

ii) Accessibility to formal credit (65% credit by moneylenders and informal services) iii) Diversification of crops and investment in agriculture (Model Contract Farming Act) iv) Growth of MSMEs (MUDRA loans, SHG-bank linkage programme) v) Promote rural-urban connectivity (Access to market pressure groups, NGOs) Awareness about welfare schemes (Enabled agriculture mission, Green revolution hegemony, Crop insurance, Yethin breasts) Shortcomings of cooperatives: → State's interference (State subject) => Politicisation of cooperatives → Casteist and communalist hegemony in cooperatives → Poor auditing structure → Diverse acts with states for regulation of cooperatives BPM, Gati Shakti (Retail Connectivity) => E-tech aid for farmers (EPARI, Agritech) => Land Leasing => Mechanism of farms (Focus on harvesting infra) => CAA audit of cooperatives with local government support Cooperatives are first step in socialist equality achievement but with their effective functioning, ethical governance is also the need.

— ATLA THARUN TEJA · AIR 123