Tirupati: The Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, successfully conducted a two-day National Review Workshop on October 8 and 9 here at Hotel Taj.

The event was attended by Principal Secretaries, Commissioners, and Registrars of Cooperative Societies from all States and Union Territories.

The workshop focused on promoting the idea of “Sahakar se Samruddhi” — achieving prosperity through cooperatives.

The inaugural session began with a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony. Andhra Pradesh Cooperative and Charitable Societies Registrar (CC&RCS) A Babu delivered the welcome address and was followed by a keynote speech from the Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Dr Ashis Kumar Bhutani.

During the session, the detailed discussions were held on computerizing all Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), improving digital systems, and expanding cooperative services in rural areas.

Andhra Pradesh presented its success story of converting 2,021 PACS into fully digital ePACS.

APCOB and the State Cooperation Department displayed their work through a live ERP software demonstration and hardware kits.

The Ministry also handed out digital membership kits to Yerpedu PACS members using eKYC, taking a big step towards digital inclusion in villages.

Several sessions were held on topics such as cashless and paperless operations, the world’s largest Grain Storage Plan across 29,000 PACS, and strengthening dairy and fisheries cooperatives in rural areas. Participants also discussed new Public-Private Partnership models to boost cooperative business activities.

States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat shared their progress in Aadhaar-enabled payments and cooperative banking.

The APCOB Managing Director made a detailed presentation on how rural cooperative banks are using technology for growth and business development.

The workshop also highlighted media outreach plans for the International Year of Cooperatives 2025.On the second day, delegates from Sikkim visited Yerpedu PACS to understand digital operations, member onboarding, and interaction with farmers.

The sessions focused on new business models, rural ventures, and improving export opportunities through cooperative companies such as BBSSL, NCEL, and NCOL.

Key recommendations from the workshop included updating the National Cooperative Database, forming central panels of liquidators and arbitrators, and focusing on revival rather than liquidation of sick cooperatives.