The co-operatives are the oldest rural credit institutions in India with widest network covering every State and Union territory of the country and the first institutional arrangement for financial inclusion. These were virtually the only institution for rural credit in most of the areas until the nationalization of 14 banks in 1969.
Although Regional Rural Banks came into existence in 1976, and commercial banks and RRBs have opened large number of branches in rural areas, their reach in the countryside, both in terms of the number of clients and accessibility to the small and marginal farmers and the poorer sections, is far less than that of co-operatives.