Over 17,000 PACS registered so far to function as Common Service Centres: Shah
The PACS will offer more than 300 services that include banking, insurance, Aadhar enrolment, health services, legal services, and Pradhan Mantri Welfare Schemes and others to the rural citizens, including 130 million farmers in India
Union minister of cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the Common Service Centres (CSC) services through Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) in New Delhi on Friday and announced that 17,176 PACS have been registered to function as CSC for helping rural population with services including banking, insurance and Aadhaar enrolment in rural India.
Addressing the public at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Shah said that the PACS will provide services offered by CSC across the country. He said there are around 95,000 PACS across the country and soon all will be on-boarded to start CSC operation.
The PACS will offer more than 300 services that include banking, insurance, Aadhar enrolment, health services, legal services, and Pradhan Mantri Welfare Schemes and others to the rural citizens, including 130 million farmers in India, Shah informed.
He also emphasised that out of one lakh existing PACS, 17,000 have already registered themselves as CSCs. Out of this, 6,670 PACS have also started transactions and in the coming weeks, the remaining registered PACS will also start transactions, Shah said.
He added that the objective of this new initiative is to make PACS affordable for all entities at the rural level, adding in the next few years, around 300,000 new PACS will be established. He said that the CSC is best way for achieving “minimum government, maximum governance with last-mile delivery but without corruption.”
“Today, the Indian government and the state governments’ more than 300 small-to-small schemes have been combined with CSC. This will not only increase the facilities for the poor, but also will give new energy and new strength to the rural economy,” Shah said.
The Union minister noted that India’s the maximum potential can be utilised for the development of the country when PACS and CSC are combined.
Shah highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would make use of the computerisation of PACS to increase the efficiency of PACS, increasing transparency and accountability in their operations, along with ensuring that PACS diversify their business and get involved in multiple other services.
About 63,000 functional PACS will be computerised over a period of five years with a total budget outlay of Rs.2,516 crore, with a central share of Rs.1,528 crore, he said.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of communications, electronics & information technology, who was also present at the event pointed out that the number of active CSC has reached 519,000 from 83,000 in 2014.
Earlier in June this year, the ministry of cooperation had signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ministry of electronic and IT, NABARD and CSC e-governance services to enable the PACS be viable to work with Common Service Centres.
(with PTI inputs)
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