Digitization of PACS in the country
Digitization of PACS in the country
The Union Government is already taking action to improve modern banking practices like net banking, mobile banking, and e-banking etc. in cooperative banks.
State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) were not allowed to provide internet banking facilities to their customers till 2015. To promote digital banking services by StCBs/DCCBs, RBI vide notification dated 05 November 2015, permitted StCBs and DCCBs meeting certain regulatory eligibility criteria to acquire licence from RBI to offer internet banking facility. Also, StCBs and DCCBs meeting certain eligibility criteria have been permitted to offer Mobile Banking facility from 08 October 2008.
The information on number of StCBs and DCCBs offering internet banking facility is summarized in the table below:
S.No.
Bank Category
Total No. of Banks
No. of Banks which are offering the facility as on 31st March 2024
Internet Banking with Transaction Facility
Mobile Banking
1
StCBs
34
4
21
2
DCCBs
351
8
113
Total
385
12
134
Source: Ensure Portal, NABARD
Considering the need to further promote the spread of digital banking in rural areas through the extensive network of StCBs/DCCBs and the low number of StCBs/DCCBs which are offering internet banking with transaction facility to their customers at present, RBI has been requested to relax the eligibility criteria for StCBs/DCCBs on the lines of revised criteria applicable for RRBs.
NABARD encouraged and facilitated the process of bringing all the RCBs onto Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform. A special initiative in this regard facilitated 201 RCBs (14 StCBs and 187 DCCBs) from 16 States & 03 UTs with 6,953 branches to join the “NABARD initiated Project for CBS in Co-operatives”. This initiative was completed using the cloud-based Application Service Provider (ASP) model for RCBs.
NABARD is also working with MoC, GoI towards establishing a Shared Services Entity (SSE) for Rural Cooperative Banks to harness economies of scale and facilitate technology upgradation in RCBs at a faster pace.
The Umbrella Organization named National Urban Co-operative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC) for urban co-operative banks has been established for Urban Cooperative Banks to provide financial and technical support, assist with modernization, and act as a central point for implementing advanced digital banking solutions across UCBs. This organization aims to migrate UCBs from isolated Core Banking System (CBS) to a unified platform developed by NUCFDC. This will enable UCBs to offer digital banking, mobile services, and online transactions, improving efficiency, scalability, and customer experience. It will also streamline operations, reduce costs, enhance transparency, and allow for easier integration of new technologies.
Under computerization of functional Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) total ₹865.8 crore rupees have been released and ₹617.92 crore has been utilized by States and NABARD. States wise details of funds allocated, disbursed, and utilized in last three years is as per Annexure I.
Annexure-1
Year wise Allocation Release and utilization with respect to GoI Shares (Amount in Crore)
Year 1 (2022-23)
Year 2 (2023-24)
Year 3 (2024-25)
S. No
States/UTs
Amount allocated for FY 2022-23
Amount released in FY 2022-23
Amount utilized in FY 2022-23
Amount allocated for FY 2023-24
Amount released in
FY 2023-24
Amount utilized in FY 2023-24
Amount allocated for FY 2024-25
Amount released in FY 2024-25
Amount utilized in FY 2024-25
Maharashtra
87.95
87.95
0.00
134.58
33.65
71.88
27.81
0.00
2.58
Rajasthan
23.78
23.78
0.00
78.06
43.30
44.05
52.42
0.00
10.15
Gujarat
0.00
0.00
0.00
106.70
58.30
7.39
44.37
22.19
46.96
Uttar Pradesh
11.28
11.28
0.00
43.87
42.30
24.10
50.88
0.00
10.92
Karnataka
40.25
40.25
0.00
61.58
15.39
36.67
21.17
0.00
1.21
Madhya Pradesh
33.23
33.23
0.00
50.85
25.42
43.47
0.00
0.00
5.78
Tamil Nadu
33.20
33.20
0.00
49.84
12.48
25.78
24.95
0.00
3.45
Bihar
32.95
32.95
0.00
50.41
0.00
4.48
29.32
0.00
28.47
West Bengal
30.54
30.54
0.00
46.73
0.00
6.45
40.49
0.00
6.35
Punjab
25.52
25.52
0.00
39.05
0.00
10.20
13.32
0.00
7.06
Andhra Pradesh
14.93
14.93
0.00
22.84
3.74
0.00
18.12
0.00
13.04
Chhattisgarh
14.86
14.86
0.00
22.75
0.00
4.51
20.41
10.21
10.45
Himachal Pradesh
9.56
9.56
0.00
14.64
7.32
13.13
6.18
0.00
3.05
Jharkhand
10.99
10.99
0.00
16.83
0.00
5.45
15.10
7.55
5.55
Haryana
4.85
4.85
0.00
8.33
2.44
0.00
3.00
0.00
6.90
Uttarakhand
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
3.69
0.00
7.03
0.00
0.12
Assam
6.41
6.41
0.00
9.81
2.45
6.41
6.60
3.30
2.27
J&K
5.25
5.25
0.00
8.03
1.52
5.25
3.71
1.85
1.52
Tripura
2.95
2.95
0.00
4.50
1.13
3.55
3.03
1.52
2.04
Manipur
2.55
2.55
0.00
3.90
0.00
0.00
3.86
0.00
0.11
Nagaland
0.36
0.36
0.00
0.56
2.46
0.64
3.20
0.00
1.64
Meghalaya
1.23
1.23
0.00
1.13
0.00
1.03
1.97
0.00
0.23
Sikkim
1.18
1.18
0.00
1.80
0.90
1.59
0.79
0.00
0.31
Goa
0.32
0.32
0.00
0.50
0.13
0.30
0.44
0.00
0.12
ANI
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.33
0.69
0.00
0.84
0.00
0.62
Puducherry
0.44
0.44
0.00
0.67
0.17
0.41
0.29
0.00
0.00
Mizoram
0.27
0.27
0.00
0.43
0.00
0.21
0.44
0.44
0.06
Arunachal Pradesh
0.15
0.15
0.00
0.24
0.12
0.21
0.09
0.00
0.05
Ladakh
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.31
0.12
0.12
0.04
0.00
0.00
DNH&DD
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.12
0.12
0.00
NABARD
100.00
100.00
0.00
187.97
40.91
96.16
100.00
25.00
33.48
Total
495.00
495.00
0.00
968.24
298.62
413.42
500.00
72.18
204.50
This was stated by the Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.