Pakyong, July 3 (IPR): As part of the nationwide Cooperative Week Celebration 2026, the Department of Cooperation, Government of Sikkim, organised a programme under the vision "Sahakar Se Samriddhi – A National Campaign Through People's Participation" at the RURBAN Community Complex, Pakyong, today.
The week-long celebration, being observed from June 29 to July 6, commemorates the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation. The initiative aims to promote the spirit of cooperation and people's participation while highlighting the role of the cooperative movement in fostering socio-economic development across the country.
During the programme, video messages on Cooperative Week 2026 by the Governor of Sikkim, Mr Om Prakash Mathur, and the Chief Minister, Mr Prem Singh Tamang, were screened.
Delivering the keynote address, Additional Registrar, Department of Cooperation, Ms Kessang Yanki, highlighted that the week-long celebration, being observed from June 29 to July 6, commemorates the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation. She emphasised the importance of creating awareness about the services offered through Common Services Centres (CSCs) among rural communities and urged the field officials to act as valuable assets in ensuring effective service delivery at the grassroots level.
She also encouraged the participants to make the best use of the technical sessions by applying the knowledge gained in their respective areas of work.
The first technical session was conducted by State In-charge, CSC, Mr Amitabha Nandy, who provided an overview of the Common Services Centre (CSC) e-Governance platform. During the session, he explained that, under the Ministry of Cooperation's initiative, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are being integrated with the Common Services Centre (CSC) network to expand service delivery and provide digital and citizen-centric services at the grassroots level.
He highlighted the role of CSCs in delivering accessible and efficient public services across various sectors. He informed that CSCs provide a wide range of citizen-centric services, including Aadhaar Seva Kendra, PM Welfare Schemes, State Government e-Services, RTO services, and insurance services. Citizens can also avail themselves of services such as PAN and Passport assistance, National Pension System (NPS) registration, flight, train ticket bookings, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) services, Education Department State Quota seat allotment, and student scholarship services, all at the government notified rates.
Mr Nandy also briefed the participants on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and urged the Assistant Cooperative Inspectors to sensitise PM-Kisan beneficiaries on enrolling in the crop insurance programme during the Kharif season to protect their crops against unforeseen losses.
He further emphasised the importance of delivering e-services through the CSC network to ensure efficient, transparent and citizen-centric service delivery across the State.
The second training session was conducted by Audit Officer, Mr Nima Tsh Bhutia, for the Assistant Cooperative Inspectors (ACIs) and Cooperative Inspectors (CIs). During the session, he delivered a presentation on Common Audit Challenges and Their Prevention, highlighting the importance of improving the accuracy of daily accounting entries, reducing audit observations, ensuring correct financial reporting and strengthening compliance with the Common Accounting System.
He also discussed common audit issues, including incorrect selection of accounting heads, erroneous entries, and discrepancies in bank balances, while suggesting measures to prevent such errors.
The programme also included the presentation of Letters of Appreciation and tokens of appreciation to field officials in recognition of their dedication, sincerity and exemplary performance in the discharge of their duties. The recipients were:
1. Mr Sujal Sharma, Padamchey MPCS
2. Mr Deepen Tamang, Amba Mamring MPCS
3. Ms Sonam Palmu Bhutia, Sumin Lingchey MPCS
4. Mr Milan Rai, Barapathing MPCS
5. Mr Sunil Chettri, Janaushadhi Kendra
6. Mr Chittish Chettri, Janaushadhi Kendra.
Both technical sessions concluded with interactive discussions, during which the Assistant Cooperative Inspectorsposted in various Gram Panchayat Units operating Common Services Centres (CSCs) through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) raised queries related to CSC portal operations, including issues concerning OTP authentication and other challenges encountered during field implementation. The resource persons addressed the queries, clarified the participants doubts and took note of their feedback for further consideration.
The programme was attended by the Senior A.O, Deputy Registrars, Ms Neerulata Chettri, Audit Officers, Assistant Registrars, CSC, District Manager, Cooperative Inspectors and Assistant Cooperative Inspectors.
Report from DIO Pakyong