Bhubaneswar: As many as 8,063 cooperative societies out of a total 8,667 registered cooperative societies in Odisha are functional, Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, highlighting the Centre’s efforts to strengthen the cooperative sector in the state through financial assistance, digital transformation and institutional reforms.
In a written reply to a question by BJD Rajya Sabha MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj, Shah said the data was based on the National Cooperative Database (NCD) as on July 15, 2026. He said the government has been taking several measures to empower cooperative institutions and enhance their role in rural economic development.
The Minister said the computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) has been one of the major initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Cooperation. The Central Sector Scheme, launched in 2022, was initially aimed at covering 63,000 PACS across the country but has now been expanded to 79,630 PACS with a revised financial outlay of Rs 2,925.39 crore.
The initiative seeks to bring functional PACS under a common Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-based software platform to improve transparency, efficiency and digital connectivity. The system will enable seamless integration of PACS with NABARD through State Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks.
Odisha joined the PACS computerisation programme in 2025, with 4,240 PACS approved for digitisation under the scheme. The Centre has provided financial support for implementing the project in the state, which is expected to modernise grassroots-level cooperative institutions.
Shah also highlighted the role of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) in promoting cooperative activities in Odisha. He said the NCDC has provided cumulative financial assistance of Rs 3,352.03 crore to the state as of June 30, 2026.
The financial support has been extended to various sectors, including marketing cooperatives, service cooperatives, dairy and livestock development, fisheries, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), storage infrastructure and computerisation initiatives.
The Union Minister said that since the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation in July 2021, the Centre has introduced a series of reforms under the vision of “Sahakar Se Samriddhi.” These measures include strengthening primary cooperatives, improving cooperative banking systems, providing tax benefits to cooperative societies, reviving cooperative sugar mills, setting up new national-level multi-state cooperative societies and promoting capacity building.
The Ministry is also encouraging the transformation of PACS, dairy cooperatives and fisheries cooperatives into multipurpose cooperative societies to diversify their activities, improve financial sustainability and ensure long-term viability.
The National Cooperative Database is being used to identify areas lacking cooperative institutions and facilitate the creation of new societies. The government is also working on a Cooperative Ranking Framework to encourage better performance and healthy competition among cooperative organisations.
In addition, the Centre has established the Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023 to support the revival of financially distressed multi-state cooperative societies and promote sustainable development.
The Centre’s continued focus on technology-driven reforms, financial support and institutional strengthening is expected to give a further boost to Odisha’s cooperative ecosystem and enhance livelihood opportunities for rural communities.
