A Five-Year Plan to Cover Every Panchayat
Under a plan approved on February 15, 2023, the Ministry of Cooperation has been working to establish new multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy cooperatives, and fisheries cooperatives across every panchayat and village in the country over five years, supported by NABARD, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).
According to the National Cooperative Database, as of January 20, 2026, a total of 32,802 new PACS, Dairy, and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered, while 15,793 existing societies have been strengthened since the plan's approval.
To ensure time-bound implementation, the Ministry issued a Standard Operating Procedure (Margdarshika) on September 19, 2024, laying out targets and timelines for states and Union Territories to follow.
Financial Progress and Software Rollout
On the financial side, during FY 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 (up to January 20, 2026), 35 States/UTs have submitted proposals for cooperative-sector software development aligned with their respective State Cooperative Acts, with ₹26.82 crore released so far to support this digitisation drive.
The broader push is aimed at modernising the functioning of grassroots cooperatives, which have historically suffered from poor record-keeping and limited access to credit-linked digital infrastructure.
By formalising thousands of new cooperative societies and digitising their operations simultaneously, the government is seeking to expand both the reach and the efficiency of rural credit and produce-marketing systems — a dual objective central to the wider goal of doubling farmer incomes and strengthening India's rural financial architecture.
For exams, remember: the plan's approval date (February 15, 2023), the 32,802 new societies registered by January 2026, and the supporting agencies NABARD, NDDB, and NFDB.
Source: pib.gov.in
