The Union Cabinet Thursday approved a Central Sector Scheme titled “Grant in aid to National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)” with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Briefing newsmen about the decision of the Cabinet today, Vaishnaw said the scheme will be implemented over a period of four years, from 2025-26 to 2028-29, with an annual allocation of Rs 500 crore.
The grant aims to support cooperatives in setting up new projects, expanding existing ones, and meeting working capital requirements.
By providing financial assistance, the scheme seeks to promote economic growth, job creation, and infrastructure development in rural areas while the grant will enable NCDC to raise Rs 20,000 crore from the open market, which will be utilized to provide loans to cooperatives.
Approximately 2.9 crore members of 13,288 cooperative societies across various sectors, including dairy, livestock, fisheries, sugar, textile, and food processing, are likely to benefit from this scheme.
The availability of loans will help cooperatives increase their productivity, generate more employment, and improve the economic conditions of farmer members.
Term loans for infrastructure development will create widespread employment opportunities across different skill levels.
NCDC will be responsible for disbursing, following up, and monitoring the implementation of projects, as well as recovering loans.
NCDC will provide loans to cooperatives either directly or through state governments, as per NCDC guidelines.