After scoring with the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme to revive indigenous industries, the Uttar Pradesh government will replicate the flagship model in rural banking.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced to launch One District, One Cooperative Bank roadmap to cater the needs of the farm sector with institutional banking support.
The primary objective is to open cooperative bank branches and run them with the help of the BC (banking correspondent) Sakhi program; make UP cooperative banks profitable; and ultimately achieve the One District, One Cooperative Bank objective.
Launching the B-PACS (primary agricultural credit society) membership campaign and toll-free number in Lucknow recently, he said UP is emerging as a leading investment hub. B stands for ‘bahuudeshiya’ in Hindi which means multipurpose.
“The MSME department is actively promoting the packaging, design, and marketing of its local products. If cooperative banks also join this process, it will help rebuild public trust in them,” he said.
Observing that cooperatives were always an integral part of the Indian traditions since ancient times, he lamented over time, unscrupulous individuals entered the cooperative movement causing loss of trust among the people.
“We are grateful to PM Modi, who gave the status of ministry to cooperatives in 2019,” he said.
Yogi said till now, PACS was limited to selling fertilisers and seeds, but now it is being developed as a Common Service Development Center platform.
Agriculture constituted nearly 40 percent of India’s GDP during Independence, but now it has dwindled to 16-17 percent; while the farm sector contributes 25-26 percent to the state GDP in UP.
Yogi pointed out the current limit of 7,500 PACS is insufficient to meet the liquidity needs for fertiliser purchases in UP, considering the state’s humongous requirements.
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B-PACS is a scheme to open multipurpose rural cooperative societies. Currently, there are 250 cooperative societies operating within the district to provide farmers with affordable fertiliser, seeds and benefits of various government schemes.