The Cooperative Credit System in India consists of Short Term and Long Term credit institutions. The short-term credit structure which takes care of the short term (1 to 5 years) credit needs of the farmers is a three-tier structure in most of the States viz., Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACCS) at the village level, District Central Cooperative Banks at the District level and State Cooperative Bank at the State level and two-tier in some States voz., State Cooperative Banks and PACCS. The long term credit structure caters to the long term credit needs of the farmers (up to 20 years) is a two-tier structure with Primary Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PARDBs) at the village level and State Agriculture and Rural Development Banks. The State Cooperative Banks and Central Cooperative Banks are licensed by Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation Act. While the StCBs and DCCBs function like a normal Bank they focus mainly on agricultural credit. While Reserve Bank of India is the Regulating Authority, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provides refinance support and takes care of inspection of StCBs and DCCBs. The first Cooperative Credit Society in India was started in 1904 at Thiroor in Tiruvallur District in Tamil Nadu