Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, Government of Tamil Nadu

How to apply

Most loans on this page are issued by a cooperative bank or society rather than by the department, so the first call usually goes to that institution.

• Jewel loan: contact the secretary of the primary cooperative agriculture and rural development bank.
• Agro Service Centre hire: approach the secretary of the local primary agricultural cooperative society.
• Women's loans and loans to doctors and engineers: ask the cooperative bank that issues them.
• Consumer protection: this is handled by a separate wing at Ezhilagam, Chepauk, Chennai, not by the Registrar's office in Kilpauk.

Check eligibility before you go

• Jewel loan: aged 18 or over, living or working within the bank's area of operation, and a member or associate member who has paid the admission fee.
• Tribal Sub Plan assistance: for members of LAMPS under the scheme.
• For the other loans, ask the bank or society which conditions apply.

Confirm the current terms

• Interest rates and repayment periods can change, so ask the bank for the current terms before you apply.

The Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department is a Tamil Nadu state government department, headed by the Minister for Cooperation. It oversees the cooperative societies and banks across the state, and the loans in its citizen's charter are issued by those bodies rather than by the department itself. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies' office is at Kilpauk, Chennai.

How the programmes work

The department's citizen's charter, published on the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Union's website, sets out the services it describes. The charter cites the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act, 1983 and the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Rules, 1988, and the Registrar's website says the Registrar's powers under that Act have been delegated.

The Tamil Nadu Cooperative State Agriculture and Rural Development Bank issues loans through its affiliated primary cooperative agriculture and rural development banks, and the Jewel loan is one of them. The Women Entrepreneur Loan and the Working Women Loan are issued to women members by cooperative banks. Central cooperative banks lend to doctors for hospital building and equipment, and to engineers for service centres. The charter also names credit from those central banks to buy vehicles for non-agricultural purposes and for house building. Medium-term loans for dairy, sheep and poultry farming are repayable over three to five years.

Two other parts of the system are described. Agro Service Centres, run by primary agricultural cooperative societies, hire out tractors, paddy harvesters and power tillers to farmers, with rent charged by the hour. The Tribal Sub Plan scheme gives financial assistance to LAMPS, through an interest subsidy on self-help group and medium-term loans and share-capital help for members.

Who can apply

For the Jewel loan, applicants must be at least 18 years old, live or work within the bank's area, and be a member or associate member who has paid the admission fee. Agro Service Centre machinery is for farmers, and the Tribal Sub Plan assistance is for members of LAMPS under that scheme. Ask the bank or society which conditions apply to the other loans.

Scale

The charter gives its current counts as 4,451 primary agricultural cooperative credit societies, 180 primary cooperative agriculture and rural development banks at taluk and block level, and 23 central cooperative banks, whose 906 branches extend credit. It also reports 2,104 Agro Service Centres run by primary agricultural cooperative societies.

The department's counts differ between its sources. The Registrar's website says there are 38 regional offices, each under a Joint Registrar except in Chennai, and 73 circles. The charter gives 32 regional offices and 71 circles. Both sets of figures come from the department, so both are shown here.

Who runs it

The Minister for Cooperation heads the department. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, an IAS officer, heads the cooperative wing. The Tamil Nadu Cooperative State Agriculture and Rural Development Bank works through the 180 primary banks affiliated to it. The Tamil Nadu Co-operative Union, a separate body, provides cooperative education and training at apex level.

The department's name differs by source. Its policy note calls it the Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, while the consumer wing's own website names the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department. That website is owned and updated by the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection.

Locations

The Registrar of Cooperative Societies' office is at NVN Natarajan Maligai No.170, Periyar E.V.R. High Road, Kilpauk, Chennai 600 010, and can be reached on 044 2836 4858. The consumer protection wing is at Ezhilagam, fourth floor, Chepauk, Chennai 600 005. Regional offices are spread across the state, with a Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies in charge of each region, district by district, except Chennai.