On Wednesday, the Federal Cabinet approved $Rs 25,530 crore extension of Ration Transportation and Income Handling Assistance Scheme with Automation in Public Distribution System [public distribution system] (Sarthak-PDS) for five years to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify beneficiaries in real time, track the movement of foodgrains, and handle citizen complaints on WhatsApp and phone calls.
The scheme now runs from April 2026 to March 2031 and aims to modernize the country’s public distribution system, which distributes subsidized food grains through ration shops.
As part of the upgrade, the government plans to introduce three AI-enabled systems under the second phase of the Smart Public Distribution System (SMART PDS), with expanded support from the IT Ministry’s Indian AI Mission.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnao said three major reforms have been approved for the Sarthak-PDS programme, including providing financial assistance to states for intra-state movement of food grains, supporting fair price shops, and funding efforts to modernize the broader public distribution system.
“This is a huge structural reform in the PDS, in the entire delivery system, logistics, transportation, material handling and grievance handling of PDS beneficiaries,” Vaishnau said.
“Under this programme, basic ration is provided to 80 crore citizens every month. It is often cited as an example of inclusive growth across the world. The scheme also has a lot to do with reducing poverty and malnutrition and ensuring healthy and unstoppable growth.”
Read also:Delhi: The annual limit for eligibility for a ration card has been raised to $1.20 litres
Reforming artificial intelligence in the public distribution system
Under one of the AI-enabled systems, called NIRMAL, it will create a real-time AI-based register of PDS beneficiaries and allow integration with other government schemes and ministries.
Another system, ASHA, will be an AI-powered multilingual grievance platform that can interact with citizens through calls, WhatsApp, IVRS, and chatbots.
The government says the platform can handle up to 300,000 interactions per day, which is an increase from the current 200,000 calls made to beneficiaries per month.
The third system, SAKSHAM, will use artificial intelligence tools for supply chain management, including vehicle tracking, QR code-based bag tracking of food grains, demand forecasting, and route optimization.
The government also claims that upgrading the technology can reduce transportation distances of foodgrains by 15% to 50%, encourage local procurement, and save around 100% of foodgrains. $280 crore annually through improved logistics.
It also estimates a 35% reduction in carbon emissions from the supply chain. QR coded tags on bags of food grains and vehicle location tracking systems are also planned as part of the upgrade.
