The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) supports the formation of Fisheries Cooperative Societies across the country including in the state of Andhra Pradesh.  The Government of Andhra Pradesh has informed that a total of 213 women-led coastal Cooperative Societies have been formed in the areas of fisheries, seaweed cultivation and marine processing, benefitting 27,447 beneficiaries across 12 districts, including Kakinada from 1^st April 2021 to 15^th June 2026 . The district wise details of women-led coastal cooperative societies along with the number of beneficiaries associated with them, are given at Annexure-I.  

(c) For the promotion and strengthening of women-led coastal fisheries cooperatives across the country, the Government of India is continuously engaging with the States and Union Territories through various schemes and programmes. As part of these efforts, fisheries cooperatives are encouraged to register on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) and are eligible for higher incentives, including performance grants of up to ₹2 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PMMKSSY). Women-led fisheries cooperatives are also accorded priority in the issuance of Access Passes for fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Letters of Authorization (LoA) for High Seas fishing. Further, to facilitate greater participation of fisheries cooperatives in High Seas fishing, the application and renewal fee for the Letter of Authorization has been reduced from ₹25,000 to ₹5,000.

(d) As a part of Blue Economy, the Department of Fisheries, through National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), has formulated an action plan to support the formation of 12,000 fisheries cooperatives across the country, including women-led Coastal Cooperative Societies in uncovered panchayats and villages. In addition, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Saha-Yojana (PM-MKSSY) a sub-scheme of PMMSY envisages for strengthening of 5500 Primary Fisheries Cooperative Societies across the country including women-led Fisheries Cooperative Societies, with mentoring, capacity building and need based financial support.  

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Annexure-I

Statement  regarding Women led cooperatives in fisheries

This information was given by Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question asked.

JP