Govt Announced Agri Credit Societies To Convert Wholesale Petrol Pumps Into Retail Outlets

The government announced on Wednesday that existing Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with wholesale gasoline and diesel dealership licences will be given a one-time opportunity to convert their bulk consumer petrol pumps into retail outlets. This is a significant move to strengthen cooperatives. In order to support the nation's cooperative movement, the cooperation ministry announced in a statement that PACS will also be given preference in the allocation of new petrol and diesel outlets. PACS' eligibility has been accepted, and they will be able to obtain an LPG distributorship as well.

These decisions were made during a meeting that Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri held in this location. According to the cooperation ministry, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has approved turning existing wholesale gasoline/diesel dealership licenced PACS (PACS) into retail outlets in order to enhance the PACS.

Existing PACS will be given a one-time opportunity under this to turn their bulk consumer pumps into retail locations, according to the statement. Among other choices, the ethanol blending plan would prioritise selling ethanol to sugar cooperative mills, and even PACS will be permitted to run retail stores on their own.

The petroleum ministry will see to it that cooperative sugar mills collaborate with other for-profit businesses to buy ethanol. Accordingly, priority should be provided, the government advised.

As part of the allocation of new petrol and diesel outlets, PACS would be placed in the Combined Category 2 (CC 2) category with a quota for athletes and freedom fighters, according to the petroleum ministry's announcement.

A model bylaw for PACS has been prepared, according to the ministry, which highlighted additional steps taken to strengthen PACS. Through this model bylaw, about 1 lakh PACS across the nation will serve as the foundation for rural economic development and help more than 13 crore farmers earn more money through more than 25 different activities.

In addition, a centrally sponsored programme for the computerization of PACS is being conducted to reinforce its position. As a result, PACS will be able to communicate with NABARD using a standard national programme.

Along with this, the cooperation ministry has also entered into a contract with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD, and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, under which the general public will be able to access more than 300 CSC e-services in rural areas via PACS.

In addition, the government has set a five-year goal of establishing 2 lakh primary dairy/fisheries cooperative societies and multifunctional PACS in all panchayats and villages. In addition, the GeM portal now accepts cooperatives as purchasers, and numerous central government programmes are also being decentralised at the PACS level.

The reforms, according to the ministry, will strengthen the PACS and open the way for them to become multipurpose economic organizations, raising the income of the nation's millions of farmers.