ABSTRACT
Introduction Cooperative banks occupy a unique position in the rural credit delivery system of India, having long played a signi cant role in the provision of short-and longterm loans for agriculture and rural development. Although commercial banks (a er their nationalization) and later the regional rural banks (RRBs) have entered rural areas, cooperative banks still continue to hold an important place in the rural credit scenario in India. e cooperative credit societies at the grassroots level aim not only to cater to the credit needs of its members, but also to provide several credit-related services – such as the supply of inputs, the storage and marketing of products, and the supply of consumer goods, etc. – to farmers, whose basic need continued to be timely credit.
