New Delhi, July 21, 2023.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated a National Mega Conclave on the launching of Common Services Centre (CSC) services by Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in New Delhi today. On this occasion, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri B L Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma and Managing Director of CSC-SPV Shri Sanjay Rakesh were present along with other dignitaries.
In his address, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that with the integration of PACS and CSC, two resolutions of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to strengthen cooperatives and promote Digital India are being fulfilled today. The resolutions taken by the Prime Minister Modi to eliminate corruption from governance through CSC under the Digital India Mission and taking facilities to the doorsteps of the poor people and to strengthen the rural economy by strengthening the entire cooperative system from PACS to Apex by forming the Ministry of Cooperation have integrated today.
Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has guided the Ministry of Cooperation with a great vision. He said that if the cooperative movement has to be strengthened, then its smallest unit PACS has to be strengthened. Shri Shah said that until the PACS are not strong, the cooperative movement cannot be strengthened. Therefore, the government has decided to computerize the PACS to make them transparent, to ensure their accountability and also to modernize them so that the digitized schemes of the government can be integrated with the PACS. Shri Shah said that within 20 days of the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi provided Rs. 2,500 crore for the computerization of PACS, due to which 65,000 PACS are being computerized.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that there can be no bigger means than CSC to implement the formula of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance with last mile delivery but without Corruption’. He informed that more than 300 small beneficiary schemes of Government of India and State Governments have been integrated with CSC. He said that there can be no better means than PACS to deliver CSC services to the poorest of the poor in the villages, landless agricultural laborers and Dalit and Tribal communities. Today PACS and CSC are getting united, this will not only increase the facilities of the poor, but also the rural economy will get new energy and strength. Along with this, we will also be able to utilise the maximum potential for the development of the country.