Amit Shah | Photo: PTI
Thiruvananthapuram: The union government has announced that a unified software, controlled centrally, would be implemented in the primary cooperative societies across the country.
During the budget speech at the Lok Sabha, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government was promoting a cooperative-based economic development model for small and marginal farmers and other marginalised sections.
The government has initiated the computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore, she said.
The PACS are popularly known as ‘cooperative banks’ in Kerala. To install the unified software, NABARD will find system integrators in each state through open tenders.
The system integrators will be in charge of hardware, transferring data of the societies and customising the software according to the nature of the establishment in the states.
The union government has stated that they were aiming to help farmers with digital transactions of money.
The software will be capable of taking over the lending and other activities of the primary cooperative banks. This will be linked with Kerala Bank, which will make loan disbursement quicker.
The data provided by the societies will be transferred to the central server through the state bank.