Q.In the three-tier co-operative credit structure, the District Central Co-operative Bank occupies the:

The three tiers of rural co-operative credit are the village society at the base, the state bank at the apex, and one institution in between.

The base is the primary society, the apex is the State Co-operative Bank; the DCCB is what sits between them.

The rural (agricultural) co-operative credit system is built as a three-tier pyramid: primary agricultural credit societies at the base (village level), the District Central Co-operative Bank in the middle (district level), and the State Co-operative Bank at the apex (state level).

Option-by-option analysis:

• (a) base (village) level — Wrong. The base is occupied by the primary agricultural credit societies that deal directly with individual farmers.
• (b) middle (district) level — Correct. One DCCB serves each district, standing between the primary societies below and the State Co-operative Bank above.
• (c) apex (state) level — Wrong. The apex is the State Co-operative Bank, the single top body for the whole state.
• (d) national level — Wrong. There is no 'national' tier in this three-tier structure; NABARD and the RBI stand outside it as refinancing and regulating bodies.

Do not confuse the DCCB (district, middle) with the State Co-operative Bank (state, apex). The word 'central' in DCCB refers to it being the central agency of a district, not the top of the whole state.