The project aims at computerising 1,851 ARDBs in 13 states and UTs, and link them with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through a common software. It will standardise business procedures through Common Accounting System and Management Information System.Cooperative societies and banks disburse loans for different purposes like crops, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, agriculture equipment, land development, irrigation purposes and others.“Digitalisation will help measure the productivity of loans, identify borrowing trends, whether bigger or smaller farmers borrow and their productivity,” said Satyanarayan. However, he said that “feeding precise data into the system will be a major challenge before this project.”In addition, the ministry has decided to make the functioning of RCS offices paperless.Amit Shah, Union Minister of Cooperation, said in a statement that digitization is a major step towards realizing PM Modi’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”.Experts welcome planAccording to several experts, digitalisation of the cooperative sector has been long due and it will modernise and revive the ailing sector. “Precise data related to cooperative loan disbursements would help the managements make well-informed decisions and enable the governments to make policies related to it,” said Dr N Satyanarayan, former head of National Cooperative Union of India.
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