Primary Agricultural Credit Societies : Approved
Union Cabinet recently approved the establishment of new Primary Agricultural Credit Society in 2 lakh panchayats in the next five years.
- PACS are village-level cooperative credit societies that serve as the last link in a three-tier cooperative credit structure headed by the State Cooperative Banks (SCB) at the state level.
- Credit from the SCBs is transferred to the district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) that operate at the district level. The DCCBs work with PACS, which deals directly with farmers.
- Individual farmers are members of the PACS, and office-bearers are elected from within them.
- There are 02 lakh PACS in India (As per the RBI report of December 2022).
- Functions:
- To provide short and medium-term purpose loans to farmers for various agricultural purposes.
- Borrowing adequate funds from central financial agencies to help its members on time.
- Maintaining the supply of the hired light machinery for agricultural purposes.
- To promote savings habits among its members.
- To arrange for supplying agricultural inputs.
- Provide marketing facilities to members that could enhance the sale of their agricultural products in the market at reasonable prices.
