In a significant development for India’s cooperative sector, Cooperation Secretary Gyanesh Kumar emphasized the vital role of PAN (Permanent Account Number) data collection from cooperative societies in ensuring accurate GDP estimation and policy formulation. Speaking at a government event, Kumar revealed that India’s vast network of over 8 lakh cooperative societies has long operated in financial silos, limiting their integration into the mainstream economic assessment frameworks.
The government is actively working to streamline financial reporting in the cooperative sector, particularly in agriculture, dairy, and rural credit, where cooperatives have a massive grassroots presence. With the rollout of a new database and the upcoming Tribhuvan Sahkari University (TSU), dedicated to cooperative education, the initiative aims to make cooperatives more transparent, efficient, and nationally significant.
By linking PAN data, authorities will gain clearer visibility on cooperative income, expenditure, and economic contributions, critical for calculating sectoral GDP and shaping welfare schemes and investment policies. The move also aligns with larger structural reforms to digitize cooperative operations, enhance financial literacy, and ensure fairer revenue distribution — particularly relevant for the dairy sector, where cooperatives handle over 50% of India’s milk production.
Industry Insight:
This is a pivotal step towards integrating India’s dairy cooperatives into formal economic metrics. Accurate data will help policymakers plan better infrastructure, pricing frameworks, and investment schemes — essential for a rapidly modernizing dairy economy.
Source : Dairynews7x7 April 13th 2025