Prelims:Current events of national and international importance| Schemes
Why in News?
Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the Sarthak-PDS, with an outlay of Rs 25,530 crores.
Sarthak-PDS – Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS.
Integration – It is an umbrella scheme integrating two existing programmes
Assistance for intra-state movement of food grains and Fair Price Shop dealer margins under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The SMART-PDS initiative focused on technology-driven reforms.
Implementation period – It will be implemented for five years from April 2026 to March 2031 under the 16th Finance Commission cycle.
Objectives – To support state governments' distribution of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
Features
Modernising PDS – To strengthen and modernise the Public Distribution System (PDS) for the effective implementation of the PMGKAY.
Remuneration enhancement – To enhance the remuneration of fair price shop dealers, which had remained unchanged for several years.
Transport & Handling Support – State agencies struggled with the costs of moving grains from FCI warehouses to districts and Fair Price Shops.
The Central government will now provide financial support to cover these costs.
Unified Database – The scheme also proposes unified databases and state-level command and control centres for efficient operations.
Technological Reforms – It focuses on
Digital transformation of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS),
Ration card digitisation,
Aadhaar seeding,
E-pos-enabled fair price shops, and
Platforms including Mera Ration and Anna Sahayata.
Technologies used – It will use technologies such as
Artificial intelligence (AI),
Machine learning (ML),
Natural language processing (NLP), and
Blockchain for better supply-chain management, monitoring, and grievance redressal.
Significance – The initiative is expected to improve transparency, reduce leakages, ensure efficient food grain distribution, and strengthen food security for beneficiaries across India.
