Notes from ANnual Report.docx

NABARD has expanded its balance sheet to over ₹9 lakh crore, a 13.6% growth from FY 2023. This year's annual report has a theme chapter on "Cooperatives: Tackling Challenges, Building Opportunities" highlighting the critical role of cooperative sector in agriculture and Indian economy. It showcases...

NABARD has expanded its balance sheet to over ₹9 lakh crore, a 13.6% growth from FY 2023. This year's annual report has a theme chapter on "Cooperatives: Tackling Challenges, Building Opportunities" highlighting the critical role of cooperative sector in agriculture and Indian economy. It showcases the history of cooperative movement in India, and current scenario of cooperative sector along with the NABARD's initiatives in developing the cooperative sector The Annual report is organised into three sections as under; Section I (Chapters 1 and 2) deals with the scenario of economy and agriculture in India and the theme chapter on Co-operatives, Section II (Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) covers our developmental and business activities and interventions thereof. This section also dealt with various dimensions of NABARD's engagement with its stakeholders, and Section III (Chapters 9 and 10) presents organisational set up and our financials. Part-B of NAR 2023-24 comprises of a section on Corporate Governance owing to SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement) guidelines and Annual Accounts. We are facilitating the digitisation of 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) over 5 years. On 24 February 2024, 18,000 digitised PACS were inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. NABARD's rural infrastructure financing has reached a cumulative sanction of ₹8.2 lakh crore, including ₹61,000 crore during FY2024. Our flagship Rural Infrastructure Development Fund has had a transformational impact on the rural landscape, creating irrigation potential for 422.2 lakh ha, laying 5.6 lakh km of rural roads, constructing 14.1 lakh meter of rural bridges, and generating 3,096 crore person-days of non-recurring employment. To address shrinking size of agriculture landholdings, NABARD has promoted 7,355 farmer producers' organisations with 25 lakh farmer members, of which about 82% are small and marginal farmers. NABARD has pioneered various sustainable and inclusive development models for fostering rural prosperity. Notably, the Self-Help Group--Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP), launched in 1992, has grown to link 1.44 crore SHGs with savings and 77.4 lakh SHGs with credit, involving ₹65,089.20 crore in deposits and ₹2.59 lakh crore in outstanding loans. As the National Implementing Entity of three key climate financing funds, we have funded 40 projects worth ₹1,971.5 crore. NABARD has also developed a green taxonomy to classify its development and business portfolio for prioritising investments and mobilising resources for the green portfolios. NABARD's balance sheet reached ₹9.1 lakh crore as of 31 March 2024, reflecting a 13.6% growth over FY2023. NABARD also mobilised ₹1,040.5 crore through India's first AAA Rated rupeedenominated social bonds in FY2024, aligning investments with social impact. Through NABARD's social bonds, investors can play a role in building a more equitable and sustainable future for all. NABARD's vision for the future is encapsulated in its Five-Year Strategic Plan, 'Pragati 1.0,' starting 1 April 2023, and the repositioning initiative 'UNNATI' to enhance our internal capabilities. 1. India and World Economy GLOBAL MACRO-FINANCIAL CONDITIONS The global growth momentum displayed greater-than-expected resilience to high interest rates that persisted throughout the year with central banks sustaining their policy focus on managing the cost-of-living crisis. Supply side expansion, following the easing of supply chain pressures, improved labour force participation, and sustained decline in global food prices imparted resilience. Consequently, the feared global recession, that usually ensues an aggressive phase of synchronised global monetary tightening, was avoided. Global growth at 3.3% in 2023 reflected only a modest deceleration from the 3.5% growth recorded in 2022 Global merchandise trade contracted by 1.2% in 2023; trade in goods and services (taken together) also registered a tepid growth of 0.8%.2 According to the IMF, about 3,200 and 3,000 new restrictions were imposed by countries on trade in 2022 and 2023, respectively. According to UNCTAD, foreign direct investment to developing economies declined by 9% in 2023 9.7, 7.0 (FY 2023), 8.2 (FY 2024) Growth in past three years. The acceleration in growth momentum was led by robust (9%) growth in investment (i.e., increase in gross fixed capital formation) in FY2024, on the back of sustained thrust of fiscal policy on capital expenditure. Among the major constituent sectors of the economy, construction and manufacturing registered high growth at 9.9% each. Inflation moderated following proactive monetary and supply management measures Average consumer price index (CPI) inflation had surged to 6.7% in FY2023, to above the upper tolerance band of the inflation target, as global food and energy prices escalated due to the supply disruptions in the wake of the Russia--Ukraine War (Figure 1.2). However, average inflation declined to 5.4% in FY2024 and core (excluding food and fuel) inflation dropped below 4% during the last 4 months of the year reflecting: 5 proactive monetary policy tightening, in the form of a cumulative increase in policy repo rate by 250 basis points (between May 2022 and February 2023), which was sustained thereafter during FY2024 and beyond; and targeted supply-side measures undertaken by the government, in the form of ◊ placing export restrictions to improve domestic availability, ◊ excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel, ◊ market release of foodgrains from buffer stocks, ◊ lowering of tariffs to soften the cost of certain imported food items, and ◊ imposing restrictions on the use of sugarcane molasses for ethanol production, etc. Fiscal consolidation and higher public sector capex to foster growth with macro stability Reflecting the needed fiscal policy response to manage the severe macroeconomic impact of the pandemic, the gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of the central government had jumped to 9.2% of GDP in FY2021 (and the consolidated fiscal deficit of the centre and states to 13.3% of GDP). Since then, the fiscal policy stance has persevered with gradual consolidation along with higher allocations for capital expenditure (capex), thereby promoting non-inflationary growth. As per the interim budget for FY2025, the GFD (provisional estimates) for FY2024 at 5.6% of GDP is placed lower than the budget estimate of 5.9%, and the budgeted GFD for FY2025 at 4.9% is set lower than market expectations. The commitment to lowering GFD to lower than 4.5% of GDP by FY2026 has also been reiterated. Sustaining the thrust on capex to drive the post-pandemic recovery and accelerate growth momentum, the share of capex has been budgeted higher at 3.4% of GDP in FY2025 (Figure 1.3 a and b). With GFD of states moderating from 4.1% of GDP in FY2021 to 3.1% of GDP in FY2024 (as per budget estimates), the consolidated deficit has also declined to 8.7% of GDP In an unfavourable global environment, characterised by tepid growth in world trade and heightened spill-over risks from tight monetary policy stance of advanced economies, India's external vulnerabilities remained contained, with current account deficit (as a percentage of GDP) narrowing and staying within sustainable levels on the back of lower trade deficit than last year and higher receipts through services exports and remittances, and a turnaround in portfolio flows (Figure 1.4). In January--March 2024, the current account in the balance of payments recorded a surplus equivalent to 0.6% of GDP. India's foreign exchange reserves rose to \$646.4 billion by the end of FY2024. RESILIENCE OF AGRICULTURE TO UNEVEN RAINFALL PATTERNS The Southwest monsoon rainfall ended the year with a 5.6% deficit (compared with the long period average rainfall), and the distribution of rainfall was also erratic, with June and August of 2023 experiencing large deficits and July and September of 2023 encountering surpluses.8 The geographical distribution was also uneven, with east and north-east and the southern peninsula witnessing larger deficits. Reflecting the expected impact of unfavourable rainfall patterns on kharif output, the first advance estimates of kharif foodgrains production were set 0.9% lower for FY2024 (over the first advance estimates of the previous year). Growth in agricultural gross value added (GVA) (at 2011--12 prices) was also pegged lower at 1.8% (as per the first advance estimates of national income) and 0.7% (as per the second advance estimates of national income). According to the India Meteorological Department, rainfall was 9% below normal during October--December 2023 and 33% below normal during January--February 2024. Foodgrains production (kharif and rabi combined), however, exhibited resilience and is estimated at 328.9 million tonnes for AY2024 (as per third advance estimates), similar to the level recorded in AY2023 (Figure 1.6).9 Horticulture output in FY2024 (as per second advance estimates) at 352.2 million tonnes shows a modest decline from 355.5 million tonnes achieved in the preceding year. In the provisional estimates of national income, agricultural GVA growth was revised to 1.4% (Figure 1.5). With rising resilience of Indian agriculture to climatic shocks, the farm sector GVA nevertheless continues to exhibit sustained expansion over successive years. Decline in share of food in household consumption basket The consumption expenditure survey (CES) results relating to the period August 2022--July 2023, released after a gap of 11 years, showed a distinct shift in the consumption pattern of households, in both rural and urban areas, with the share of food, and cereals in particular, declining in total monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE). Noticeable decline in the shares of cereals and sugar, two water-guzzling food items, in both rural and urban areas coincide with a period when water stress is reported to have increased in India. Notwithstanding the desirable shift in the consumption pattern, water-conserving agricultural practices need to be promoted to further enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture to climatic shocks. The changing consumption pattern also provides leads in terms of reallocation of resources, including credit that may be required to promote the production of food items, the demand for which is expected to rise going ahead. **Strong credit flow to agriculture** Agriculture, as a priority sector, receives targeted annual flow of credit, and in recent years, actual flow has generally exceeded the set targets. Credit flow to agriculture (from commercial banks, regional rural banks, and cooperatives taken together) registered a growth of 13.6% during FY2024, which was higher than the nominal growth in agricultural GVA at 5.4%. The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme has played a pivotal role in providing timely credit to farmers, with over 7.4 crore operative KCC accounts involving a total outstanding credit of ₹8.9 lakh crore as on 30 June 2023. **Agricultural exports** sustained despite curbs India's annual agricultural exports have hovered around \$50 billion since FY2022 (Figure 1.8). The export basket, nevertheless, remains highly concentrated (with high shares of rice, including basmati rice, and sugar together accounting for more than one third of total exports). Despite curbs imposed on rice and sugar exports aimed at improving domestic availability to contain price pressures, total agricultural exports during FY2024 at \$48.8 billion were only modestly lower than in FY2023 **New initiatives for a more efficient agri-supply chain -** The World's Largest decentralised Grain Storage Plan (WLGSP) in the cooperative sector was launched during the year, to reduce post-harvest losses, prevent distress sale of crops by farmers, and enable them to get better prices later. With primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) operating as procurement centres as well as source of supply to fair price shops, farmers may also expect to save on transportation costs. As per the Ministry of Cooperation, a target to establish 2 lakh new multipurpose PACS/dairy/ fisheries primary cooperative societies in the next 5 years11 has been set, along with the ongoing ambitious programme of PACS computerisation. Steps are being taken to diversify the businesses of PACS into areas such as retail distribution of gas/petrol, custom hiring centres, fair price shops, godowns, etc. Also, three new multi-state cooperative societies have been approved to be set up at the national level for exports, certified seeds, and organic products. As on 31 March 2024, 17.7 crore households have been saving linked through over 144 lakh selfhelp groups (SHGs) with deposits of over ₹65,089.2 crore and loan outstanding of ₹2.6 lakh crore.12 The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a programme called 'Lakhpati Didis' to enable women SHG members to generate an annual household income exceeding ₹1 lakh on a sustainable basis. e 'Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producers' Organisations (FPOs)', recognising that FPOs enhance the bargaining power of farmers through collectivisation, improve access to inputs and fetch more remunerative prices for the produce, and thereby raise the income of farmers. Till date, 7,355 FPOs have been sanctioned out of which 6,056 have been registered across the country. **Narrowing of rural--urban consumption gap** - Change in MPCE over time is a key indicator of economic performance. As per the household CES for FY2023, the gap in MPCE between rural and urban areas has narrowed, with rural expenditure at 58.4% of urban expenditure, up from 54.4% in FY2012. Moreover, rural expenditure registered a CAGR of 9.2% as against 8.5% for the urban households. **Decline in rural unemployment rate** - Unemployment is another major indicator to assess the state of the rural economy. As per the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), unemployment rate in rural areas at 2.4% in FY2023 was lower than in urban areas at 5.4%, and unemployment has also consistently declined in both rural and urban areas since FY2018 (Figure 1.10). Importantly, this decline has occurred against the backdrop of a sustained increase in labour force participation rate (LFPR), i.e., an increase in the percentage of persons in labour force (working, or seeking work, or available for work) in the population. Pradhan Mantri (PM) Awaas Yojana (Gramin) nearing the goal of achieving the target of 3 crore houses, 2 crore more houses will be taken up in the next 5 years. Through rooftop solarisation, 1 crore households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month. PM-SVANidhi has provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors; PM Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-toend support to artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades; under PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, direct financial assistance has been provided to 11.8 crore farmers; under PM Fasal Bima Yojana, crop insurance has been given to 4 crore farmers; and the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) has integrated 1,361 mandis and is providing services to 1.8 crore farmers. Under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), which is a demanddriven, placement-linked skill training initiative, rural youth (aged 15--35 years) belonging to below poverty line families are provided skills training for 3--12 months. Around 15.8 lakh rural youth have been trained till 31 March 2024, of which 9.6 lakh have been placed. The Jal Jeevan Mission, besides aiming to provide tap connections for all households, has also enhanced the focus on holistic management of local water resources, where local panchayats are expected to play a key role. Mission Amrit Sarovar aimed at developing/rejuvenating 75 amrit sarovars (ponds) in each district, totalling to about 50,000 ponds in the country. Going beyond the initial target, as of December 2023, 1.1 lakh sites were identified and work was completed in 68,187 sites. The PM Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 (PMUY) had set a target of 8 crore domestic gas connections, which was achieved in September 2019. To cover the remaining poor households, more connections were rolled out. As on 1 July 2023, there were about 9.6 crore PMUY beneficiaries, of which 8.4 crore had taken at least one refill during FY2023. The scheme has been extended for release of 75 lakh additional connections between FY2024 and FY2026 which will take the total number of PMUY beneficiaries to 10.4 crore. The PM Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has been a transformative policy intervention in the rural areas. Till December 2023, 1.9 lakh roads of 8.2 lakh km road length and 11,587 bridges have been sanctioned, involving a total value of ₹3.8 lakh crore; under PMGSY-I, 99.4% of the eligible habitations have been provided all-weather road connectivity; under PMGSY-II, against the target of 50,000 km, 49,857 km has been sanctioned and 48,691 km has been completed; under the Road Connectivity Project for Left-Wing Extremism Affected Areas, 12,100 km has been sanctioned and 8,290 km completed; and under PMGSY-III, against the target of 1.3 lakh km, 1.1 lakh km has been sanctioned and 69,507 km completed. Since the launch of the PM Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), 2.9 crore households (including tribalhouseholds) have been electrified leading to 100% electrification. The Government of India had launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) in December 2014 for strengthening power distribution systems, including separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders; strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure; metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers; and electrification of villages across the country. As reported by the states, all the inhabited un-electrified villages enumerated in the Census of India 2011 had been electrified by 28 April 2018 under DDUGJY. A total of 18,374 villages were electrified under the scheme. The Government e-marketplace (GeM) has been promoted as a one-stop national procurement portal for the procurement of goods and services by all government buyers, including central and state agencies, public sector units, and autonomous bodies. Udyam-verified micro and small enterprises now account for close to half of total cumulative gross market value transacted in GeM, and with a view to widening access to women entrepreneurs, artisans and weavers, SHGs, khadi producers, etc., the 'One-District One-Product' scheme is being popularised under the GeM. To monitor progress on localisation of sustainable development goals (SDGs), which is important to achieve India's commitments for 2030 on SDGs, a Panchayat Development Index (PDI) was prepared by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. As a multidimensional index, quality data reporting through the PDI portal is being encouraged. The targeted production-linked incentive scheme for 14 key sectors; policy emphasis on strengthening logistics and improving the ease of doing business; and the proactive approach to harnessing the opportunities in renewables, semiconductors, and digitalisation have strengthened the underlying forces of growth in the economy. The Union budget for FY2025 has set 'improving productivity and resilience in agriculture' as a priority and announced a comprehensive review of agriculture research set up in India. Highlights of the Union Budget 2024--25 Priority areas identified to improve productivity and resilience of agricultural sector include: (i) transforming agricultural research, (ii) release of new varieties, (iii) natural farming, (iv) mission for pulses and oilseeds, (v) vegetable production and supply chains, (vi) digital public infrastructure for agriculture, and (vii) shrimp production and export. ₹1.5 lakh crore has been allocated to the agriculture and allied sectors and ₹2.7 lakh crore to rural development. 109 varieties of 32 high-yielding and climate-friendly crops will be released for cultivation. To increase productivity as well as reduce input costs, one crore farmers will be linked to natural farming in the next two years. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres shall be established. To bolster vegetable supply chains and enhance production and distribution efficiency, the creation of large-scale production clusters near major consumption centres is proposed. Towards the development of digital public infrastructure, a digital crop survey for kharif crops shall be conducted in 400 districts, integrating data from 6 crore farmers into national registries, streamlining access to agricultural services. To boost shrimp farming and improve its export potential, a network of nucleus breeding centres for shrimp brood stocks will be established, with funding for shrimp farming and exports facilitated through NABARD. The Pradhan Mantri Janjati Unnat Gram Abhiyan shall be launched to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities. The National Cooperation Policy shall be formalised for the systematic and all-round development of the cooperative sector. For increasing the participation of women in the workforce, women-specific skilling programmes shall be organised and market access for women self-help groups will be promoted Chapter 2 - **Cooperatives Tackling Challenges, Building Opportunities** Development milestones for the cooperative movement in India - 1904 - Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 1912 - Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 1915 -- Maclagan Committe 1919 -- Government of India Act, 1919 1928 -- Royal Commission on Agriculture 1934 -- Setting up of RBI 1937 -- Mehta Committee 1942 -- Multi-Unit Cooperative Societies Act, 1942 1946 - Establishment of Milk Cooperative 1951 - All-India Rural Credit Survey Committee 1963 - Establishment of ARC Establishment of NCDC 1965 -- 1966 -- 1979 -- 1982 -- 1990 -- 2002- 2004 -- 2011 -- 2012- 2014 -- 2020 -- 2021 -- **CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF COOPERATIVES IN INDIA** 'Cooperative societies' is a state subject under Entry 32 of the State List of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. Cooperative societies functioning within a single state are governed by the Cooperative Societies Act of their respective state/Union Territory (UT). Cooperative societies functioning in more than one state/UT are governed by Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 under the purview of Government of India (GOI). Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 granted citizens the fundamental right to form cooperative societies and included a directive under the Directive Principles of State Policy requiring the state (government) to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control, and professional management of cooperative societies. Cooperative banks are basically cooperative societies which are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act of the state concerned or under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. Central and state laws on cooperative societies generally deal with incorporation, regulation, and winding up of the cooperative societies. When cooperative societies carry on the business of banking, they come under the regulatory purview of the Reserve Bank of India, and they are licensed under the provisions of the Banking Regulation, Act, 1949. INDIAN COOPERATIVES IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT The Indian cooperative movement is one of the largest in the world with nearly 8 lakh cooperative societies (of the 30 lakh globally)1 and a membership base of over 29 crore people.2 India accounts for nearly 27% of all cooperatives in the world.3 Over 20% of Indian population4 is estimated to be part of the cooperative movement in comparison to the global average of 12%.5 Of the 300 largest cooperatives in the world (by turnover/GDP per capita), 15 are from India with IFFCO at top position, followed by Amul.6 India ranks second in the Asia Pacific region (after Japan) and sixth in the world (after USA, France, Germany, Brazil, and Japan) in terms of number of cooperatives under this category.7 Among the top 300 cooperatives listed by turnover (US\$), IFFCO is placed 72nd, Amul 90th, and KRIBHCO 236^th^ Sectoral distribution The cooperatives in India cover a wide array of activities, including credit and banking, fertiliser, sugar, dairy, marketing, consumer goods, handloom, handicraft, fisheries, housing, etc. Housing (24%), dairy (17.7%), and PACS--FSS--LAMPS (13%) account for over 54% of all the cooperatives in the country Also, 48% of the total cooperative members are associated with PACS--FSS--LAMPS. Dairy cooperatives and their federations have been especially successful in India, contributing to equitable growth of their members. Formation of dairy cooperatives in India was the driving force behind its 'White Revolution', transforming it from being a milk-deficient country to the largest milk producer in the world with 24% share in the global milk production.a The dairy sector contributes to over 5% of India's GDP.b Before being organised into dairy cooperatives, small-scale milk producers had little bargaining power. The milk marketing system was controlled by contractors and middlemen. As milk is perishable, farmers were compelled to sell their milk for whatever they were offered. Polson, a private dairy, had monopoly over the supply of milk pasteurised in Anand (Gujarat) to Mumbai. Acknowledging the plight of dairy farmers of Kaira in Gujarat, who were being exploited by middlemen, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel advised the farmers to form a cooperative society with its own pasteurisation plant and market their milk through the cooperative society. Guided by Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai and Tribhuvan Das Patel helped organise the farmers into primary dairy cooperatives in villages which would, in turn, federate to form a dairy cooperative union with milk processing facilities. This marked the beginning of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited, Anand (known as Amul today). It was formally registered on 14 December 1946. Following a visit by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to Anand, Gujarat in 1964, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was created in 1965 with a mandate to support the creation of dairy cooperatives along the 'Anand Pattern' across India. The 'Anand Pattern' was essentially a cooperative structure comprising village-level dairy cooperative societies which promote districtlevel unions, which, in turn, promote the state-level marketing federation. Starting in 1970, NDDB replicated 'Anand Pattern' cooperatives through the Operation Flood programme all over the country. Among the big states, cooperative membership as a percentage of estimated total population is much higher in the states in the southern and western regions than the eastern and north-eastern. Cooperative membership as a percentage of total population was highest in Kerala (77%) followed by Karnataka (50%), and lowest in Mizoram (4%). There are still 18,497 gram panchayats not covered by a PACS in India and the government has launched a central plan to establish a cooperative society in each of these. Development of rural institutions is one of the core mandates of NABARD and a part of its corporate mission statement. NABARD's role in the development of cooperative sector can be broadly summarised under the domains of refinance support, developmental support, policy support, and supervisory role. Refinance support Augmenting resources of RCBs Facilitating capital formation in agriculture. Developmental support Training and capacity building Providing infrastructure support Policy support Supporting policy research and action at the central and federal levels Supervision of RCBs Conducting s s tatutory inspection Ensuring compliance to statutory/regulatory provisions. Refinance support: NABARD extends refinance to rural cooperative banks (RCBs) for supplementing their resources for short-term and long-term lending for agriculture, allied activities, and rural non-farm sector. Of the total ground level credit disbursed by rural credit cooperatives, the share of resources mobilised from NABARD is over 55% (also see sections 6.2-6.5 of this report). Developmental support: NABARD provides developmental support through its Cooperative Development Fund set up in FY1993 (also see Section 8.4 of this report). It also promotes financial inclusion in rural areas through its Financial Inclusion Fund (also see Section 6.6 of this report). Policy and implementation support: ◊ Centrally sponsored scheme for computerisation of the PACS (also see Section 8.3.1 of this report) ◊ Centrally sponsored scheme for computerisation of agriculture and rural development banks (ARDBs) (also see Section 8.3.2 of this report) ◊ Study on Reforms, Restructuring and Innovations in ARDBs: NABARD Consultancy Services (a NABARD subsidiary) conducted this study and submitted the draft report to the Ministry of Cooperation, GOI for consideration and feedback. ◊ National Policy on Cooperation: NABARD provided inputs for the formulation of the draft policy to the Committee for the National Policy of Cooperation. The committee is mandated with drafting the new National Cooperation Policy document to provide an enabling framework to realise the vision of 'Sahakar se Samriddhi', strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, and promote the cooperative-based economic development model. ◊ PACS as common service centres (CSCs): A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD, and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited for providing more than 300 e-services, such as banking, insurance, Aadhaar enrolment/updating, health services, PAN card and rail/bus/air ticket, etc., through the PACS. So far, 35,379 PACS have started providing CSC services to rural citizens, which may result in higher income for these PACS. NABARD provided inputs for drafting the National Policy of Cooperation, which promotes the cooperative-based economic development model. Supervisory support: NABARD conducts periodic inspections of supervised entities including regional rural banks, and state and district central cooperative banks (statutorily) and state cooperative ARDBs (voluntarily) NABARD INITIATIVES IN DEVELOPING THE COOPERATIVE SECTOR 2.7.1 Cooperation amongst Cooperatives 'Cooperation amongst Cooperatives' is one of the fundamental principles of the cooperative movement and it helps in achieving synergies by bringing together different types of cooperative institutions to strengthen the movement and in increasing their share in the contribution to the economy. A pilot project to promote 'Cooperation amongst Cooperatives' was launched by the Union Minister for Cooperation on NABARD Foundation Day (12 July 2023) in Banaskantha and Panchmahal DCCBs of Gujarat to promote financial transactions of primary dairy cooperative societies with cooperative banks and to strengthen the cooperative sector to increase its self reliance (also see Showcase 6.1 of this report). After the success of the pilot project, the campaign on 'Cooperation amongst Cooperatives' was launched in all districts of Gujarat by the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 15 January 2024. 2.7.2 CBS upgrade in rural cooperative banks NABARD encouraged and supported the process of bringing the RCBs onto the Core Banking Solutions (CBS) platform. NABARD, in August 2022, kicked off the 'National Level Study on Core Banking Solutions in Rural Cooperative Banks'. The report indicated a list of 'Must-Have' and 'Good-to-Have' modules which NABARD has been pursuing with the CBS vendors to ensure their availability in the CBS system. NABARD, in its endeavour to enable the RCBs to have access to latest technologies in the banking sector, is working to facilitate common platforms for various initiatives like Centralised Account Aggregator platform, Cyber Insurance, Common MIS Server, Centralised Payment System, etc., for the RCBs