 "NCDC to achieve financial disbursement target of Rs 50,000 cr in FY24: Shah")
Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday exuded confidence that the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will achieve a financial disbursement target of Rs 50,000 crore in the current 2023-24 fiscal.
NCDC, an implementing agency for various central government schemes, disbursed financial assistance of more than Rs 41,000 crore in 2022-23.
Addressing the 89th General Council meeting of the NCDC, Shah said, "NCDC is set to achieve 10 times growth in the disbursement of financial assistance in the current financial year from Rs 5,300 crore in 2013-14".
"With such an impressive performance, I am confident that the NCDC will be able to achieve the target of Rs 50,000 crore kept for the 2023-2024 fiscal," he said in a statement.
Shah said it is a matter of pride that the net non-performing assets (NPA) of NCDC are maintained at 'zero' with a loan recovery rate being over 99 per cent for the 2022-23 fiscal.
The minister also said that the NCDC should set a target of achieving Rs 1 lakh crore yearly disbursement in the next three years, along with targets for every quarter.
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He suggested that the NCDC should explore avenues for borrowing at lower rates and lend to the cooperative sector keeping the interest rate low. NCDC's objective must not only be to make a profit but to achieve the overall development of the cooperative sector.
Lauding the role of the NCDC in helping cooperative development in the country, Shah said from agricultural marketing and inputs to processing, storage and cold chain the ambit of NCDC has widened to include areas in keeping with the needs of the society and boost income of youth in the country.
He said there are more than 8 lakh cooperatives in the country with 29 crore farmers as their members. Since its inception in 1963, the NCDC has provided cumulatively financial assistance of Rs 2,78,378 crore to cooperatives, including agricultural and horticulture cooperative societies.
On the progress of strengthening the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS), Shah said the work is on to bring uniformity in the working of the PACS, which have different by-laws in the country.
Most states and Union territories have adopted the model by-laws on PACS drafted by the Ministry of Cooperation. The scope of work of PACS has been widened, and now, they can work in 25 different areas like dairy and fishery, and can also work as Common Service Centres (CSCs), he said, adding that PACS by becoming CSCs can provide more than 300 services to rural people.
Since its formation, the cooperation ministry has taken 54 initiatives in the last 27 months to strengthen cooperative movement in the country and increase cooperatives' share in GDP, he added.
NCDC is one of the implementing agencies promoting the government's scheme of Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), which provide for registration and support of new cooperatives as FPOs.
It is also an implementing agency for the Formation and Promotion of Fish Farmers Producer Organisations (FFPOs) under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.
Shah also said that NCDC should focus on promoting the three new national-level cooperative societies on exports, organic and seed production so that these societies grow in their business like many big brands in the cooperative sector.
NCDC should also be the first contributor of equity in the proposed umbrella organisation of urban cooperative banks, he added.