Page 19 - NIS English 01-15 December, 2025

20 lakh
PACS as Common Service Centres dairy
farmers
will be able
Considering the reach of PACS at the rural level, to become
a multi-ministerial and multi-agency agreement members of
was signed to enable them to provide more the organized
than 300 services, such as banking, insurance, cooperative
Aadhaar enrolment, health services, PAN
card services, and railway, bus, and air ticket society
booking. As of 10 November 2025, 50,355 PACS Union Home and Cooperation
have started delivering common service centre Minister Amit Shah inaugurated
facilities to the rural population. a multi-state cooperative
organization called Sardar Patel
n PACS have registered 1,863 Farmer Producer Cooperative Dairy Federation
Organizations (FPOs). This will help farmers gain Limited in July 2025. It has an initial
market linkages and ensure fair prices for their produce.
capital of ₹200 crore. Over 20 lakh dairy
n PACS have been included in the priority list for retail farmers from over 20,000 villages across
petrol and diesel outlets. 393 PACS across 27 states and 20 states will be able to become members.
union territories have applied. PACS have been given Through this federation, farmers will
the option to convert their wholesale consumer petrol benefit from assured milk procurement,
pumps into retail outlets. better veterinary care, enhanced
n The government has now allowed PACS to apply for animal nutrition, and
LPG distributorships. access to modern
dairy technologies.
n PACS are eligible to operate and maintain tap water
supply systems in rural areas; 539 Investments in
PACS have been identified for robust cold storage
this purpose. infrastructure, cold
storage centres,
n PM Kusum Yojana and 36,592 and efficient
PM Surya Ghar Muft PACS now operate as processing
Bijli Yojana have also Pradhan Mantri Kisan facilities will
been linked to PACS. Samriddhi Kendras further strengthen
Initially, 100 cities have (PMKSK), ensuring quality standards.
been selected for the easy access to fertilizers It will help meet
PM Surya Ghar Muft and services for the demand for
Bijli Yojana. farmers. safe and hygienic
dairy products.

stories is endless, and statistics reveal their impor- Today, approximately 91% of villages in the country
tance across the country and the world. There are has entity engaged in agricultural development,
over 8,00,000 cooperative societies in the country, rural development, and self-employment through
with over 300 million members, and they operate cooperatives, contributing to the nation’s devel-
extensively in approximately 30 sectors. Every fifth opment. This is strengthening the rural economy,
person in the country is involved with cooperatives. fostering the growth of self-employment and small
Cooperatives have become a instrument for the de- entrepreneurship. Social inclusion is increasing,
velopment of the poor and the marginalized. Coop- and new standards are being set in innovation
eratives, in a way, touch every family in the country. and research. Furthermore, the cooperative sector

December 1-15, 2025 || NEW INDIA SAMACHAR 17