How many tiers are in the structure of the Cooperative Credit System for providing credit?

• The Cooperative Credit System in India follows a three-tier structure to dispense short-term and medium-term credit to farmers and rural communities. This structure consists of:
-State Cooperative Banks (SCBs): At the apex level, SCBs operate at the state level. They provide loans and financial assistance to the Central Cooperative Banks and also act as a link between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the cooperative credit structure.
-Central Cooperative Banks (CCBs): CCBs operate at the district level. They provide loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and also cater to the credit needs of individual borrowers in rural areas.
-Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS): PACS operate at the village or grassroots level. They are the direct point of contact for farmers and other rural borrowers, providing short-term and medium-term loans for agricultural activities, inputs, and other needs.
Key Points
-A credit union is a member-owned financial cooperative, democratically controlled by its members.
-The Co-operative Credit Institutions in India can be classified as under a three-tier structure-
-Primary Credit Societies at the bottom
-Central Co-operative Bank at the middle
-State Co-operative Bank at the top
-The Cooperative form of organization is an effective medium for bringing about the socio-economic transformation of the hitherto neglected sectors.
-Where the masses flock, Co-operatives facilitate material advancement through united action which in turn fosters self-reliance.
-The Co-operative movement is acclaimed in all plan documents as the means of transferring the rural society. 
-The contribution of cooperatives in the process of development is well known through the measures of economies of scale, better bargaining, competitive marketing, processing, and service orientation. 
Additional Information

• Constitutional Provisions Related to Cooperatives:
-The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB right after Part IXA (Municipals) regarding the cooperatives working in India.
-The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution.
-This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of the fundamental right of citizens.
-A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.

• About ‘Co-operatives’:
-According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
-There are many types of cooperatives such as Consumer Cooperative Society, Producer Cooperative Society, Credit Cooperative Society, Housing Cooperative Society, and Marketing Cooperative Society.
-The United Nations General Assembly had declared the year 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives.
-India is an agricultural country and laid the foundation of the World’s biggest cooperative movement in the world.
-In India, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility.