Dehradun, Jan. 29 -- The Uttarakhand government will establish 643 multi-purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the state to strengthen the cooperative sector, state cooperative minister Dhan Singh Rawat said on Wednesday. He added that rules and regulations would be amended to make cooperative societies more transparent, strong and self-reliant. Rawat chaired a review meeting of the cooperative department at his official residence, where he assessed the formation of new PACS committees, implementation of the grain storage scheme, progress on three new national-level cooperative societies, the state's participation in National Cooperative Export Limited activities, and preparations for a cooperative conference proposed in Gujarat in February. The minister directed officials to complete preparations for the Gujarat conference in a time-bound manner. "Effective implementation of all schemes must be ensured so that the cooperative sector becomes transparent, strong and self-reliant," he said. Cooperative secretary Iqbal Ahmed said a proposal had been prepared to constitute 643 new PACS committees, considering the state's geographical conditions; 621 have already been formed. He added that construction on identified land for the registrar's office would begin soon. Ahmed said recruitment for 177 vacant posts in Class-I, Class-II and Class-III categories in district cooperative banks would be conducted through the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection....