The Ministry of Cooperation provided an update on the strengthening of cooperative institutions in Punjab through a written reply in Rajya Sabha by Union Minister Shri Amit Shah. The Central Sponsored Project for Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) has sanctioned 3,482 PACS in Punjab, with 3,454 already onboarded on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software. The Government of India has released a total of ₹33.94 crore to Punjab under the project, with specific allocations including ₹13.32 crore for 2024-25 (which remained unreleased due to non-utilization of previous funds as per expenditure guidelines), ₹14.84 crore for 2025-26 (with ₹7.42 crore actually released), and ₹4.00 crore for 2026-27 (with ₹1.00 crore released to date).
Under White Revolution 2.0, Punjab has registered 1,027 new dairy cooperative societies and strengthened 951 existing dairy cooperatives as of July 15, 2026. For the grain storage scheme, the Food Corporation of India has provided storage requirements of 5 lakh metric tonnes across 9 districts in Punjab. The state has identified 30 PACS/Cooperatives with a capacity of 2.84 lakh MT for storage creation, though physical construction of godowns has not yet been completed by the state government.
The government has prepared and circulated model bye-laws for PACS to all states/UTs on January 5, 2023, which include provisions for more inclusive membership with adequate representation for women and SCs/STs. Punjab has adopted these model bye-laws, and various PACS in the state are now operating Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendra, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra, and Common Service Centres.