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Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday directed the National Federation of State Co-operative Banks (NAFSCOB) to prioritise making Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) more viable, transparent, and modern.
Speaking at the NAFSCOB’s Diamond Jubilee celebration, Shah expressed concern over the “dilution” of cooperative spirit among cooperative institutions in state and district-level.
“I believe this is a matter of concern. We need to strengthen the spirit of cooperation,” he emphasised, underlining that true cooperation means collective prosperity and equal profit sharing.
“The NAFSCOB’s work is not just about holding meetings and resolving problems with the RBI and government; its job is to make PACS viable, transparent and modern,” Shah noted.
Highlighting the critical aspects of cooperative banking reforms, he pitched for strengthening PACS, totalling 1.05 lakh, with only 65,000 functional.
He asked NAFSCOB to focus on implementing technological upgrades, creating opportunities for youth engagement, and focus on increasing low-cost deposits.
On expansion plans, Shah said the government aims to increase the number of district cooperative banks by 50 per cent from the current 300 in the coming years.
The minister asked both state and cooperative banks to keep higher targets for deposits and annual profit from the current level by focusing on raising low-cost deposits in the local area.
Shah recommended studying successful models like Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank and Gujarat State Cooperative Bank as benchmarks for improvement.
With PTI inputs
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