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| Cabinet extends SARTHAK-PDS scheme for 5 yrs with Rs 25,530 cr outlay | | | Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, May 27: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the five-year extension of the 'SARTHAK-PDS' scheme with a Rs 25,530 crore outlay through March 2031, aiming to overhaul the public distribution infrastructure through technology-led reforms.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared a revision to the norms governing central assistance to states and Union Territories for intra-state movement and handling of foodgrains, as well as fair price shop (FPS) dealers' margins, while retaining the existing funding pattern. SARTHAK-PDS merges two existing programmes - assistance for intra-state foodgrain movement and FPS dealer margins under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and the SMART-PDS modernisation scheme - into a unified framework aimed at strengthening last-mile delivery and curbing leakages.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the scheme covers the entire PDS value chain.
"Right from selection of beneficiaries to movement of foodgrains, to getting proactive feedback from citizens, to reducing transportation distance - all those activities have been approved," the minister told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. The state governments were facing difficulties in bearing the transportation cost of foodgrain to PDS shops. This cost will be supported under the scheme wherein FPS dealers' remuneration will also be enhanced, he added.
The scheme deploys three AI-powered digital platforms.
NIRMAL, an AI-driven beneficiary registry, will weed out duplicate and ghost beneficiaries, while QR-coded grain bags will enable tamper-proof tracking from warehouses to FPS outlets.
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