Government took big steps to bring transparency in the cooperative sector, 65 thousands societies will be digital

The target is to digitize about 65,000 cooperative societies by March next year. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman Shaji KV said that doing this will bring transparency in the functioning of cooperative societies. NABARD has been designated as the Project Manager for the digitalization of cooperatives under the guidance and directions of the National Level Monitoring and Implementation Committee and the Ministry of Cooperation.

Nearly 10,000 cooperative societies have already been digitalized, he said at a conference organized by Sa-Dhan, an association of microfinance institutions. We are targeting to digitalize 65,000 committees by March 2024.

On the shortcomings in the level of efficiency in cooperative societies over the years, he said, we are trying to make them important value chain players by improving transparency and computerization of these institutions. He said that NABARD is also creating a data warehouse for cooperative societies and the rural sector. It should be ready in about six months.

State Bank of India Managing Director Alok Kumar Choudhary has said that micro-financial institutions (MFIs) giving small amounts of loans should pay attention to data security and cyber security. He said that it is necessary to do this because they get data from a large number of customers. Choudhary said at a conference of Sa-Dhan that MFIs should also focus on capacity building to meet future challenges.

He said financial institutions need to focus on facilitating transactions through digital media, and in the changing times, the needs of customers have to be met with their convenience and ease. For customers at the bottom of the pyramid, we need to understand what they want. With this, their wish can be easily fulfilled.