Odisha first to digitise coop credit system

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has become the first and only State in the country to successfully digitise its three-tier Cooperative Credit Structure by integrating 17 District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs), 360 branches and 2600 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) in one platform.

Computerisation of PACS not only ensured faster processing of agriculture loans as eligibility checks are done in real-time, but also enabled farmers to withdraw the sanctioned loan using Rupay-enabled Kissan cards issued by DCCBs.

The digitisation was done through Core Banking Solution ‘WINGS’ and integrated web-based open source software solution ‘ROOTS’ provided by VSoft Technologies, a global information and technology solutions provider. The IT solutions provider was entrusted with the job after Nabard undertook an assessment study of scope, coverage and IT enablement of PACS.

The assessment study conducted in Similpur PACS under Banki DCCB and other branches showed the unique information processing capability and positive results of the implementation.

Post digitisaton, PACS had procured paddy on a significant scale, on behalf of the State Civil Supplies Corporation, Markfed and Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation (TDCC) during Kharif and Rabi seasons last year. While the amount due to farmers settled through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to their accounts through the DCCBs was to the tune of `8,000 crore, such DBT payments have already recorded at around `5,244 crore in the ongoing Kharif season.

Chairman and CEO of Vsoft Technologies Murthy Veeraghanta said, it was a great initiative undertaken by the State Government for seamless online integration of PACS. “Odisha is the only State in the country to have over 2,500 PACS with digitised data linked to a core banking platform,” he said.