MoU for CSC services via PACS and expansion of farmer-facing digital services through cooperatives
MoU signed to expand Common Service Centre digital services through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
- Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are being used as delivery points for digital public services in rural areas.
- Common Service Centres provide access to government and citizen services through local service outlets.
- The Ministry of Cooperation, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD, and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for expanded service delivery through PACS.
The Ministry of Cooperation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD, and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited to expand digital public services through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies. The arrangement is meant to make rural cooperatives a delivery point for more than 300 e-services, including banking, insurance, Aadhaar enrolment and updation, health services, PAN card services, and travel-ticket booking services.
The policy significance is in last-mile governance. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are already familiar local institutions in rural India, and their use as service outlets can reduce the distance between citizens and digital government services. The government says 55,514 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are already providing Common Service Centre services to rural citizens.
Background and earlier position
UPSC may ask how the integration of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies with Common Service Centre services strengthens last-mile governance, financial inclusion, and digital access in rural India, while also testing the institutional role of cooperatives in service delivery.
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