World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector

Recognizing the growing demand for food and the constraints of limited cultivable land, the Government of India has approved and rolled out an ambitious initiative — the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector, launched as a pilot project on 31st May 2023. This visionary scheme aims to address the significant storage gap in the country’s agricultural infrastructure, enhance food security, and empower rural cooperatives, especially the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

India possesses only 11% of the world's cultivable land (16 crore hectares) while housing 18% of the global population (140 crore out of 790 crore). This imbalance underscores the urgency to maximize the productivity and storage capabilities of the agricultural sector. As per FAO Statistical Data 2021, India's food grain production stands at 311 million metric tonnes (MMT), whereas its total storage capacity is only 145 MMT, leading to a storage shortfall of 166 MMT (47%). In comparison, several other countries have surplus storage capacity of 131%.

To bridge this critical gap, the government is leveraging the cooperative model through the PACS network. PACS are grassroots-level cooperative credit institutions and form the base of the Short-Term Cooperative Credit (STCC) structure. They are directly linked to farmers and operate under District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and State Cooperative Banks (SCBs). The first PACS was established in 1904, and they primarily provide short-term credit to farmers for inputs like seeds and fertilizers at the beginning of the cropping cycle.

Infrastructure Development Under the Grain Storage Plan

The plan includes the creation of multiple agricultural infrastructure assets at the PACS level, such as:

• Godowns (grain storage warehouses)

• Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) – facilities where farmers can rent agricultural machinery

• Processing units for sorting, grading, etc.

• Fair Price Shops (FPS) – outlets distributing essential commodities at subsidized rates under the Public Distribution System (PDS)

The implementation will be done by converging existing schemes of the Government of India such as:

• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

• Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) Scheme

• Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)

• Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME)

This integrated approach reflects the “whole-of-government” strategy, emphasizing efficiency and synergy across ministries.

Current Progress and Implementation Strategy

As part of the pilot rollout, construction of godowns has been completed in 11 PACS across 11 States. Furthermore, over 500 PACS have been identified for construction of godowns, with a target to complete the work by December 2026.

A dedicated Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted to oversee and adapt the scheme guidelines. It is chaired by the Minister of Cooperation and includes key ministers from Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Food Processing Industries, and senior officials. This coordination ensures smooth convergence of budgetary and implementation frameworks across ministries.

The initiative also focuses on empowering PACS to operate as procurement centers for agencies like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), thereby decentralizing procurement, reducing transportation costs, and minimizing grain wastage. These PACS can also run Fair Price Shops, making them multifunctional entities and hubs of rural economic activity.

Strengthening PACS Through Digitalization

To ensure efficiency, transparency, and modernization of operations, the Government of India has approved a project for the computerization of all functional PACS, with a financial outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore. This project involves integrating all PACS into a common ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)-based national software, enabling real-time data access and management. The ERP system will link PACS with NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) via the existing cooperative banking structure of State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs).

As of now:

• 73,492 PACS across 31 States/UTs have been sanctioned under the project.

• 59,920 PACS have been onboarded to the ERP software.

• Hardware has been delivered in 30 States/UTs.

For instance, in Karnataka, out of 5,628 sanctioned PACS, 3,765 have been onboarded, and hardware has been delivered to 5,491 PACS.

Expanding the Cooperative Network Across Villages

Complementing the storage plan, the Government has approved the creation of new multipurpose PACS, dairy, and fisheries cooperatives with the goal of covering all panchayats and villages in the country over five years. This expansion is supported by institutions like:

• NABARD

• NDDB (National Dairy Development Board)

• NFDB (National Fisheries Development Board)

• State and UT Governments

To facilitate the implementation, a guiding framework called ‘Margadarshika’ was launched on 19th September 2024, outlining timelines and responsibilities for various stakeholders. According to the National Cooperative Database, as of 30th June 2025, 22,933 new cooperative societies have been registered since the plan's approval on 15th February 2023, including 5,937 multipurpose PACS (M-PACS).

Conclusion: Towards “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi”

The World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector reflects the government’s commitment to the vision of “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation), championed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. By transforming PACS into decentralized infrastructure hubs and integrating them digitally, the initiative not only aims to solve India’s grain storage deficit but also to catalyze rural economic development and enhance farmer incomes.

Through this massive undertaking, cooperatives are being repositioned from mere credit providers to multifunctional, tech-enabled, business-oriented institutions, playing a pivotal role in India's agricultural transformation.