A move aimed at strengthening India’s food security architecture and enhancing transparency in welfare delivery, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a new umbrella programme titled Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in Public Distribution System (SARTHAK-PDS).
The scheme, approved on May 27, will involve a Central expenditure of Rs 25,530 crore over the next five years, covering the period of the 16th Finance Commission cycle and continuing until March 31, 2031. The initiative is expected to bring together transportation support, dealer incentives, and technology-driven reforms under a unified framework designed to improve the efficiency of the Public Distribution System (PDS) across the country.
Integrating existing schemes under one umbrella
The newly approved SARTHAK-PDS scheme integrates two major existing programmes that have been central to foodgrain distribution reforms in recent years.
The first is the Assistance to State Agencies for intra-State movement of foodgrains and Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers’ margin under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), while the second is the Scheme for Modernisation and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System (SMART PDS).
By bringing both schemes under a single umbrella, the government aims to create a more streamlined and effective system capable of addressing logistical challenges while simultaneously leveraging modern technology to reduce inefficiencies and leakages.
According to the government, the integrated approach will strengthen implementation of the National Food Security Act and ensure that foodgrains reach beneficiaries in a timely, transparent, and accountable manner.
Focus on last-mile delivery
One of the key objectives of SARTHAK-PDS is to ensure uninterrupted financial support for the transportation and handling of foodgrains within states. The scheme also seeks to enhance the margins provided to Fair Price Shop dealers, who serve as the last-mile link between the government and beneficiaries.
Officials believe that strengthening the economic viability of FPS operations will improve service quality and ensure smoother delivery of subsidised foodgrains to millions of households.
The Cabinet has simultaneously approved revised norms for Central assistance to states and Union Territories for expenses related to intra-state movement of foodgrains, handling charges, and FPS dealer margins. However, the existing funding pattern between the Centre and states will remain unchanged.
Building a technology-driven PDS ecosystem
A major highlight of the SARTHAK-PDS programme is its emphasis on digital transformation and emerging technologies.
The government has stated that the scheme will facilitate the development of a unified, citizen-centric, and technology-driven Public Distribution System architecture. The objective is to minimise leakages, improve transparency, strengthen monitoring mechanisms, and make welfare delivery more efficient.
To achieve these goals, the scheme proposes the use of cutting-edge technologies including:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Machine Learning (ML)
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Blockchain Technology
These technologies are expected to help automate several administrative processes, improve decision-making through data analytics, and create a more secure and transparent food distribution network.
Real-time monitoring and AI-based grievance redressal
Under SARTHAK-PDS, the government plans to establish standardised digital architectures and unified databases that can support real-time monitoring of foodgrain movement and distribution.
The initiative also proposes the development of AI-powered grievance redressal systems capable of analysing complaints and ensuring quicker resolution of beneficiary concerns.
Additionally, state-level command and control centres are expected to be established to monitor operations, analyse performance indicators, and improve administrative efficiency.
The government has also proposed ISO-certified process frameworks aimed at ensuring greater transparency, security, accountability, and sustainability in PDS operations.
Officials believe that these reforms will reduce human intervention in critical processes, minimise opportunities for corruption, and create a more reliable welfare delivery mechanism.
Supporting food security for over 81 crore Indians
The National Food Security Act remains one of the world’s largest social welfare programmes, providing subsidised foodgrains to a vast section of India’s population.
The government has stated that SARTHAK-PDS will directly support its commitment to ensuring food and nutritional security for approximately 81.35 crore beneficiaries covered under the NFSA.
For millions of economically vulnerable households, the Public Distribution System remains a crucial lifeline, ensuring access to essential foodgrains at affordable prices. The modernisation effort is expected to improve service delivery while reducing delays, errors, and exclusion-related challenges.
Building on a decade of digital reforms
The approval of SARTHAK-PDS marks the latest phase in a broader digital transformation journey undertaken by the government over the past decade.
Several initiatives have already been implemented to modernise the Public Distribution System, including:
End-to-End Computerisation of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)
One Nation One Ration Card framework
SMART PDS reforms
These initiatives have significantly enhanced portability, transparency, and monitoring capabilities across states and Union Territories.
The government has also launched several citizen-centric digital platforms to empower beneficiaries and improve accessibility. These include applications and dashboards such as Mera Ration, Anna Mitra, Rightful Targeting Dashboard, and Anna Sahayata, which provide information, grievance support, and improved access to welfare benefits.
SMART PDS reforms laid the foundation
Officials noted that since its launch on April 1, 2023, the SMART PDS scheme has played a crucial role in enabling technology-led reforms across the country.
The programme facilitated several major advancements, including:
Digitisation of ration cards
Aadhaar seeding of beneficiary databases
Automation of Fair Price Shops through electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) devices
Online foodgrain allocation systems
Computerised supply-chain management
These reforms have now been implemented across all 36 States and Union Territories, creating a robust foundation for the next generation of PDS modernisation under SARTHAK-PDS.
A new phase in welfare delivery
The approval of SARTHAK-PDS signals the government’s intention to move beyond basic digitisation and towards an intelligent, data-driven welfare delivery ecosystem. By integrating transportation support, dealer incentives, real-time monitoring, AI-enabled analytics, and blockchain-based transparency measures, the programme seeks to create a more accountable and efficient food distribution network.
As India continues to operate one of the world’s largest food security programmes, the success of SARTHAK-PDS could play a crucial role in ensuring that subsidised foodgrains reach every eligible beneficiary while reducing leakages, strengthening governance, and enhancing public trust in welfare delivery systems.
Nehru-era vs Modi-era
The approval of SARTHAK-PDS marks another chapter in the long evolution of India’s food distribution system, a journey that began in the years immediately after Independence when the country faced chronic food shortages, low agricultural productivity, and a rapidly growing population.
In the decades following Independence, India struggled to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. During the tenure of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the government relied heavily on administrative controls, rationing mechanisms, and state-managed distribution systems to ensure food availability in urban centres. However, limited production, inadequate storage infrastructure, poor transportation networks, and weak monitoring mechanisms often hampered the effectiveness of these efforts.
The situation became particularly challenging during the 1950s and 1960s when India frequently depended on foreign food assistance, especially grain imports under the United States’ PL-480 programme. Food shortages and recurring droughts often led to rationing, long queues at government shops, and uneven distribution across regions.
The Green Revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s transformed India’s agricultural landscape, enabling the country to gradually move from food deficit to food surplus. Yet while production increased dramatically, the challenge shifted from producing food to ensuring that it reached the intended beneficiaries efficiently.
Over the following decades, the Public Distribution System expanded significantly. However, multiple government reports, parliamentary committees, and studies repeatedly highlighted systemic issues such as diversion of foodgrains, duplicate ration cards, ghost beneficiaries, pilferage during transportation, inaccurate beneficiary databases, and leakages at various stages of the supply chain.
The problem became so widespread that several studies during the 1990s and early 2000s estimated that a substantial portion of subsidised foodgrains failed to reach the intended recipients. In many states, beneficiaries complained about irregular supplies, corruption, and poor accountability mechanisms. The absence of real-time monitoring meant that governments often struggled to identify where foodgrains were being diverted.
Recognising these challenges, successive governments initiated reforms. The introduction of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in 1997 attempted to better identify vulnerable households, while the National Food Security Act (NFSA), enacted in 2013, transformed access to subsidised foodgrains into a legal entitlement for a large section of the population.
The most significant changes, however, have come during the past decade through the adoption of digital technologies. The government undertook an extensive programme of digitising ration cards, seeding beneficiary databases with Aadhaar, computerising supply chains, introducing electronic Point-of-Sale (e-PoS) devices at Fair Price Shops, and implementing the One Nation One Ration Card initiative.
These reforms have fundamentally altered the functioning of the Public Distribution System. Beneficiaries can now authenticate their identity digitally, access ration benefits outside their home states, track allocations online, and lodge complaints through dedicated digital platforms. Technology has also improved accountability by generating digital records at every stage of the supply chain.
According to government data, these reforms have helped eliminate millions of duplicate and ineligible ration cards, improved transparency, and strengthened the delivery of subsidised foodgrains to eligible households. While challenges remain in a system that serves more than 81 crore people, the transformation from paper-based records and manual registers to a technology-enabled welfare network represents one of the largest digitisation exercises undertaken in public service delivery anywhere in the world.
It is against this backdrop that SARTHAK-PDS assumes significance. Rather than merely continuing existing programmes, the scheme seeks to take the next leap by integrating artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain technology, real-time monitoring systems, and AI-driven grievance redressal into India’s food security architecture. The objective is not only to distribute foodgrains but also to build a transparent, accountable, and future-ready welfare delivery ecosystem.
