Financial Irregularities in Cooperative Societies

The National Cooperative Database (NCD) records 8.53 lakh cooperative societies in India, of which 6.63 lakh are functional. Among functional societies, 5.95 lakh have been audited while 0.68 lakh remain unaudited. A total of 49,177 societies are under liquidation, and 115 multi‑state cooperative societies (MSCS) have been placed under liquidation under Sections 86‑90 of the MSCS Act, 2002. The Ministry of Cooperation highlights several initiatives since its inception on 06‑07‑2021, including the 2023 amendment of the MSCS Act, creation of a Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund, computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) on a common ERP platform, capacity‑building through the National Council for Co‑operative Training, and the development of the NCD as a digital repository covering about 32 crore members. Rural cooperative banks have also been brought under the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.