The Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, in collaboration with State Governments, has developed a comprehensive National Cooperative Database (NCD). This database encompasses data from various sectors, including Dairy, Women Welfare, and Tribal SC/ST cooperatives. According to the NCD portal, there are a total of 8,09,303 cooperative societies in the country.
In Haryana, the number of functional cooperatives in the Dairy, Women Welfare, and Tribal SC/ST sectors is as follows: Dairy (2,764), Women Welfare (1), and Tribal SC/ST (68), totaling 2,833 functional societies.
To support these cooperatives, the Government of India has initiated several schemes. One key initiative is the Strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) through computerization.
This project, with a financial outlay of Rs 2,516 crore, aims to integrate 67,009 PACS across 30 states and Union Territories (UTs) into a common ERP-based national software. This integration connects them with NABARD through State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs).
As of now, hardware has been procured by 28 States/UTs, 25,674 PACS have been onboarded on ERP software, and 15,207 PACS have gone live. The Government of India’s share, amounting to ?654.22 crore, has been released to 29 States/UTs over the years 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.
Another initiative is the computerization of Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs). This project aims to computerize 1,851 ARDB units across 13 States/UTs. NABARD is responsible for developing a national-level software for ARDBs and providing hardware, digitization support, and training.
So far, proposals from 10 States/UTs have been received and sanctioned. The Government of India has released Rs 4.26 crore to 8 States/UTs in FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 for these purposes.
The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), under the Ministry of Cooperation, has also been providing significant financial assistance to cooperative societies and federations across the country. Over the past three years, the NCDC has disbursed ?1,34,670.90 crore in loans and Rs 1,200.04 crore in grants.
The details of cooperative societies across various states include Maharashtra (2,22,324), Gujarat (82,143), Telangana (60,619), Madhya Pradesh (53,134), Karnataka (45,461), and Uttar Pradesh (44,579). Other states like Andhra Pradesh (17,675), Assam (11,204), Bihar (26,655), Haryana (32,860), and Punjab (19,074) also have significant numbers of cooperative societies.
Smaller states and UTs such as Chandigarh (476), Goa (5,467), and Ladakh (271) contribute to the overall total.
In terms of sectors, the Dairy sector has the highest number of cooperatives with 1,44,047 societies. Other notable sectors include Housing (1,92,297), Credit & Thrift (80,376), and Labour (44,985). There are also significant numbers of cooperatives in Agriculture & Allied (27,233), Fishery (25,909), and Women Welfare (25,078) sectors.
This comprehensive approach aims to enhance the cooperative movement across India, with a strategic focus on states with extensive cooperative networks and ensuring substantial support for their development.
The details of state-wise and sector-wise cooperatives highlight the government’s targeted investments to strengthen the cooperative infrastructure nationwide, said Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha.
