Dairy, fishery co-ops to be enlisted in rural banking outreach: Govt
A countrywide programme is on the cards to rope in dairy and fishery cooperative societies as banking correspondents to expand financial services in rural areas according to Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Ashish Kumar Bhutani
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A countrywide programme is on the cards to rope in dairy and fishery cooperative societies as banking correspondents to expand financial services in rural areas according to Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Ashish Kumar Bhutani.
Bhutani said the programme to be launched by the government will seek to leverage the existing network of dairy and fishery cooperatives to act as "bank mitras" or banking agents by offering services such as micro-ATMs and lower-interest farm loans.
After rolling out the programme at the state-level in Gujarat, the Ministry intends to shortly roll it out nationally, he said at an event organised by a trade body in Delhi.
The pilot project was launched in two districts of Gujarat where members of dairy and fishery cooperatives were able to access banking services closer home, including doorstep delivery of micro-loans and facilitating other transactions.
Under the nationwide programme, these cooperative societies will be engaged as banking correspondents of district and state cooperative banks.
To enable delivery of branchless banking services, the cooperatives will be provided with micro-ATMs with support from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the state agency tasked with development of rural India.
The cooperative members will also be issued Kisan Credit Cards, which typically offer farm loans at lower interest rates.
The Ministry of Cooperation has initiated 54 measures over the last two-and-a-half years since its formation to strengthen and promote India's cooperative sector, including allowing grassroots-level Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to undertake multiple activities.
The government has also floated multi-state cooperatives to promote exports, seed production and organic produce to help cooperatives tap international markets.
