DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
NEW DELHI, Jan 8
Referring to the aim to make the country developed by 20247, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the poor will also become prosperous with the help of cooperative societies and urged all Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to adopt the 22 different works linked by the government.
Shah, who chaired ‘National PACS Mega Conclave’ on ‘PACS as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra’, here on Monday, said that model bylaws of PACS have been accepted by 26 states and PACS will now be able to function as a dairy and fishermen committees, able to run petrol pumps, gas agencies, Common Service Centres (CSCs), cheaper medicine shops and shops for distributing cheaper grains as well as able carry out storage work and perform commercial work in water management under Har Ghar Jal committee of the village.
Shah said the Modi government has linked 22 different works with PACS.
“I appeal all PACS to adopt all these 22 works. It is the dream of the Modi government to make each and every poor of the country prosperous by 2047 with the support of cooperative societies,” Shah said.
The Union Minister said more than 4,400 PACS and Cooperative Societies from 34 states and Union Territories (UTs) have submitted their online applications on the Government of India’s Department of Pharmaceuticals portal for this initiative, out of which, more than 2,300 cooperatives societies have already received initial approval and 146 of them are ready to function as Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
“Earlier, Jan Aushadhi Kendra was mostly in the cities and it would benefit the poor living in the cities. Through PACS, today even the farmers and poor living in villages will be able to avail cheap medicines,” Shah said.
“In the last nine years, around Rs 26,000 crore of the poor people across the country have been saved because of the Jan Aushadhi Kendras. People in the villages will also benefit from this now because of the Ministry of Cooperation. It is a union of the Ministry of Cooperation and Healthcare…”
The Minister said that two lakh new PACS will also come up in coming years.
The conclave has been organized by the Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
Shah said PACS were recently allowed to operate Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras and these are being run in various states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Northern states of the country.
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) provide quality generic medicines to people, which cost 50-90 per cent less than the branded medicines available in the open market. More than 2,000 types of generic medicines and around 300 surgical items are made available through these Kendras to common citizens at affordable prices.
The initiative will provide new opportunities to PACS for diversification and expansion of their economic activities, “leading to an increase in the incomes of millions of small and marginal farmers associated with them”. It will also help in creating new employment opportunities in rural areas.
Functioning as foundation of the cooperative movement in the country, PACS are actively serving millions of small and marginal farmers in rural areas, officials said adding that Ministry of Cooperation is continuously striving to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahakaar-se-Samriddhi”.
As per the Ministry of Cooperation, the Computerization of PACS is going on across the country, under which, PACS are being linked to NABARD through an ERP-based common national software.
Further, in order to diversify the business activities of PACS and improve their operational efficiency, model bylaws have been prepared for them. A new National Cooperative Database and New National Cooperative Policy is also being formulated to aid in policy-making for the development of the cooperative sector.
To give an impetus to the production of quality seeds, and organic products and promote exports, three new Multi-State Cooperative Societies for seeds, organic and exports have also been set up. The world’s largest grain storage plan in the Cooperative Sector is also being implemented to ensure adequate storage capacity in the country for ensuring food security, under which godowns and other agri infrastructure are being created at the PACS level.
All these important initiatives will go a long way in strengthening PACS and Primary level cooperative societies, thus bringing prosperity to the lives of crores of farmers associated with them, officials said.
