Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday launched an IT skill enhancement training programme for 5,422 officers of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Large Area Multi-Purpose Societies (LAMPS), marking a major step towards making the state’s cooperative sector more technology-driven, transparent and efficient.
Cooperation, Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta formally inaugurated the programme at the State Convention Centre in Lokseva Bhawan. PACS and LAMPS officers from different parts of the state joined the inaugural programme virtually from 540 Odisha Knowledge Corporation Limited (OKCL)-authorised learning centres (ALCs).
The training programme is being implemented by OKCL in collaboration with the Cooperation Department. It will cover two officers each from 2,711 PACS and LAMPS across Odisha. The registration process for the programme has already been completed.
The training is aimed at strengthening the digital capabilities of cooperative institutions by providing officers with basic computer knowledge, digital work processes and practical skills in using IT tools. The initiative is expected to make the day-to-day functioning of PACS and LAMPS faster, more transparent and efficient.
The OS-CIT curriculum also includes a dedicated module on the National Level PACS Software (NLPS)/Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, enabling officers to acquire preliminary knowledge of the digital platform that will be used by PACS in the future.
The initiative comes amid the Cooperation Department’s efforts to digitally transform PACS through NLPS/ERP, computerise the offices of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and digitise records maintained by cooperative institutions.
Officials said the large-scale digital skill enhancement programme covering 5,422 officers across 2,711 PACS and LAMPS is the first initiative of its kind by a state in the country. Successful implementation of the programme in Odisha could provide a replicable model for similar digital capacity-building initiatives in other states.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Cooperation Department, Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, Registrar of Cooperative Societies Manish Agrawal, Additional Registrar Bhaktabandhu Sahu, OKCL Managing Director Manoranjan Puthal and senior officials from various departments were present at the inaugural programme.
The participants emphasised the broader objective of the initiative — moving “from technology to skill, from skill to empowerment, and from empowered cooperatives to empowered farmers.”
