Efforts by Authorities to get ATMs to 10 lakh farmers

In all these years, Punjab and its people have only grown better and bigger. We say that the world is developing at a very fast pace, Punjab is certainly walking hand in hand with the globe. The Punjab government does the best of efforts in order to help the farmers who are the most crucial people for not just the state of Punjab, but also for the entire population of India. The farmers of Punjab provide the maximum productivity in the field of agriculture.

For the benefit of its farmers, Punjab has come up with a software that would facilitate the issuance of ATM cards to over 10 lakh farmers who have accounts in village cooperative societies, thus enabling them to purchase agricultural inputs and draw sanctioned loan amount by swiping debit cards. This software is developed after consistent and determined efforts of two years.

There has always been a huge demand from farmers for ATM cards for transactions in cooperative societies. But during the past few years, there was a major technological obstacle in introducing this system. This hurdle has been overcome by a dedicated team of professionals.

Before the development of this software system, there was no system to manage how much amount an individual can draw from the common loan pool of the society. This system has made things easier and more convenient. As per records, presently there are around 3,500 cooperative societies in the state, having around 10 lakh registered members. All these members will be able to avail the facility of the ATM.

The final trials of the software have been completed successfully. It would be introduced in the societies soon. The hard work and dedication that the Department of Cooperation and the IT firm did for the development of this unique software have resulted in a successful product.

Once the new software is installed, it will divide the loan provided to the society among its members, according to their entitlement. The loan entitlement shall be determined by the land mass each member owns, the record of which has already been uploaded in the software. The sanctioned loan amount will be credited into the account of each member on April 1 every year.All the members will be able to draw loan money from the ATM of any bank. This effort has been applauded and welcomed by all the farmers of the state who will be benefitted immensely with this software.