Govt pushes AI to power PDS

The Union Government on Wednesday approved the SARTHAK-PDS scheme for the next five years till March 2031 with an outlay of Rs 25,530 crore. The scheme aims to overhaul the Public Distribution Infrastructure (PDS) using AI and other emerging technologies, affecting about 81 crore people under the National Food Security Act.

The Cabinet also cleared revisions to norms governing margins at Fair Price Shops (FPS) and assistance given by the Union Government to States and Union Territories for movement and handling of food grains.

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, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

“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,” Vaishnaw added.

SARTHAK-PDS merges two existing programmes — assistance for intra-State foodgrain movement and FPS dealer margins and the SMART-PDS modernisation scheme — into a single scheme to curb leakages.

The scheme will deploy AI to weed out duplicate and ghost beneficiaries, forecast demand, track vehicles, optimise routes and handle grievance redressal.

Under the new scheme, the Government projects logistics cost reductions of 15-50 per cent from the scheme, with annual savings of Rs 280 crore and a 36 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from shorter transport routes.

The scheme further plans deployment of Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Blockchain to modernise PDS operations. Key deliverables include standardised architectures and unified databases for real-time monitoring, analytics systems, and State Command Control Centres for data-driven oversight. ISO-certified process frameworks will also be put in place to ensure transparency, security and operational sustainability.

“The Government has a commitment to the people of the nation — a dignified life by ensuring access to food and nutritional security through the availability of adequate quantities of quality foodgrains,” read a Government release.

Vaishnaw was categorical that SARTHAK-PDS does not replace the existing PDS architecture but is designed to bring structural reform across the delivery of foodgrains, logistics, transportation, material handling and grievance redressal.