NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved Rs 2,516 crore for computerisation of functional 63,000 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) aimed at promoting financial inclusion.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The computerisation programme is aimed at increasing efficiency of PACS, bringing transparency and accountability in their operations, facilitating these societies to diversify their businesses and undertake multiple activities/ services.

Addressing media after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said this project proposes computerisation of about 63,000 functional PACS over a period of 5 years with a total budget outlay of Rs 2,516 crore, with the Centre’s share of Rs 1,528 crore.

This will benefit 13 crore farmers, mostly small and marginal, he said. Thakur said this is a landmark decision and a big reform in this sector. The project comprises development of cloud-based common software with cyber security and data storage. It will also provide hardware support to the PACS and help in digitisation of existing records.

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