New Delhi [India], May 27 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the government is committed to ensuring that food grains reach every needy person on time through the SARTHAK-PDS scheme, underlining that the scheme has been continued.
PM Modi, in an X post, noted that a decision has been taken to make the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) more modern and effective by making delivery, logistics, and transportation arrangements under the PDS more transparent and efficient.
"Our government is committed to ensuring that foodgrains reach every needy person in the country on time through the PDS. In this direction, a decision has been taken to continue making the PDS more modern and effective. This will make the delivery, logistics, and transportation arrangements under the PDS more transparent and efficient, while also speeding up the resolution of complaints," the Prime Minister said.
https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2059619710132723723?s=20
Earlier today, the Central government announced the SARTHAK-PDS scheme with a total outlay of Rs 25,530 crore aimed at modernising the Public Distribution System (PDS), improving logistics and introducing artificial intelligence-based systems for beneficiary management and grievance redressal.
During a cabinet briefing today, according to the details shared, the SARTHAK-PDS scheme will run for five years from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031.
The scheme includes assistance to state agencies for intra-state movement of food grains, support for fair price shops and modernisation of the public distribution system.
As part of the next phase of SMART PDS, the government also announced the introduction of three major AI-enabled modules named NIRMAL, ASHA and SAKSHAM.
The NIRMAL platform will function as an AI-driven real-time PDS beneficiary registry and will provide live inter-ministry integration along with cross-scheme convergence.
The ASHA module has been designed as a multilingual AI grievance and citizen engagement platform that will operate through calls, WhatsApp, IVRS and chatbots. According to the government, the system will be scalable to handle up to 3 lakh interactions per day.
The SAKSHAM platform will work as an AI-enabled supply chain system with vehicle tracking, QR traceability, demand forecasting and route optimisation features.
The government said the new technology-driven system is expected to improve the identification of eligible beneficiaries and increase citizen satisfaction levels.
The government also stated that the scheme is expected to reduce the travel distance of food grains by 15 to 50 per cent, helping save food grains and encouraging local procurement.
The logistics improvements under the programme are projected to generate annual savings of around Rs 280 crore along with a 35 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
The scheme will also introduce QR-coded tags for food grain bags and vehicle location systems to improve transparency and monitoring across the supply chain.