New Delhi: Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched two mobile applications – Sahakar Digi Pay and Sahakar Digi Loan – for urban cooperative banks, describing digital payment adoption as essential for their survival in an increasingly cashless economy.
Addressing a two-day international conference on the urban cooperative credit sector, Shah highlighted the government’s efforts to professionalise urban cooperative banks (UCBs) and cooperative credit societies, crediting the Reserve Bank of India for enabling their modernisation.
He pointed to significant improvements in the sector’s health, with non-performing assets declining from 2.8 per cent to 0.6 per cent over the past two years.
“There has been good improvement in NPAs. There has been reform in their operations and financial discipline,” Shah said, urging the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies Limited (NAFCUB) to pursue further expansion.
The minister set an ambitious target for NAFCUB — to establish at least one additional UCB in every town with a population exceeding two lakh within five years.
He also directed the federation to convert successful cooperative credit societies into UCBs.
“Digi Pay is the need of the hour. We know payment modes have changed. There is increasing adoption of digital payment, and if urban cooperative banks do not match, they will be out of the race,” Shah said, setting a target of onboarding 1,500 banks to the platform within two years.
The minister emphasised that the GDP growth alone cannot measure national progress.
“GDP should grow, but along with it should create livelihood options and uplift the poor, which cooperative banks can do,” he said, calling on UCBs to redesign their finance patterns to focus on young entrepreneurs and the economically disadvantaged.
Since the formation of a separate cooperation ministry in 2021-22, the central government has undertaken several policy reforms to modernise the sector.
Despite cooperation being a state subject, the Centre provided policy guidance to ensure uniformity.
Model bylaws for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) were framed, which all states, including West Bengal, adopted, enabling PACS to computerise and expand services.
Shah congratulated Amul and IFFCO for being ranked the world’s top two cooperatives by the International Cooperative Alliance, calling it evidence that the cooperative movement remains relevant.
NAFCUB Chairman Emeritus and Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil raised concerns about 20 UCBs on the verge of closure, calling for revival efforts similar to those undertaken for Yes Bank.
“The current approach is not the right way to close down a bank solely because they are unviable,” he said.
Minister of State for Cooperation Krishna Pal Gurjar, Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani, NAFCUB President Laxmi Dass, and NAFCUB Director Jyotindra M Mehta were present at the event.
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