Shah unveils Rs 225 cr projects to computerise ARDBs, RCSs

New Delhi: Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched computerisation programmes for agriculture and rural development banks and Registrar of Cooperative Societies at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore and said the digitisation efforts will help improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in their working.

The launch of computerisation projects for Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCSs) of States and Union Territories was organised by Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Shah said the projects will modernise and enhance the efficiency of the cooperative sector by bringing the entire cooperative ecosystem on a digital platform. "This will help in improving transparency and accountability in the cooperative sector," the minister said. Shah said the total cost of computerisation will be Rs 225 crore, of which Rs 95 crore would be spent on computerisation of RCSs. The computerisation of ARDBs will help farmers get medium and long-term loans, the minister said, adding the long-term finance was necessary to modernise the agriculture sector. Shah said the plan is to link these ARDBs to PACSs to facilitate long-term loans to farmers smoothly.

Under the first initiative, as many as 1,851 units of ARDBs in 13 states/UTs will be computerised and linked to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) through a common national software.