Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah on Saturday launched a Central Bank Digital Currency based Public Distribution System in Gandhinagar, marking a significant step in integrating Digital India initiatives with food security delivery mechanisms.
The launch ceremony was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution Shri Pralhad Joshi and other dignitaries.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Digital India is now extending into the food and supply system to ensure affordable food grains reach the poor through transparent and technology driven mechanisms. He described the CBDC based Public Distribution System as a concrete step toward implementing the Prime Minister’s vision of Minimum Government Maximum Governance at the grassroots level.
Shri Shah said Prime Minister Modi has given the first right over the nation’s resources to the poor, Dalits, backward classes and tribal communities. He noted that earlier nearly 60 crore people in the country did not have a single bank account in their families, while today India accounts for half of the world’s digital transactions. He said the same digital infrastructure is now being deployed to strengthen food grain distribution and eliminate corruption in the ration delivery system.
He stated that with connectivity now reaching 1 lakh 7 thousand villages, arrangements will be made to ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive food grains through secure digital mechanisms. Drawing parallels with Direct Benefit Transfer, he said DBT had eliminated fraud and scams in welfare delivery and the new CBDC based PDS would ensure similar transparency in food distribution.
Shri Amit Shah said the new system represents a blend of advanced technology and the Prime Minister’s sensitivity toward the poor, creating a secure and transparent mechanism to safeguard the rights of the underprivileged. On the occasion, the Annapurna machine was also inaugurated. The machine is capable of dispensing 25 kilograms of food grains in 35 seconds, ensuring better quality control, accurate quantity and transparent distribution.
He said the system would be implemented across the country within the next three to four years, ultimately covering the entire nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Kamakhya. Once fully implemented, every eligible beneficiary will be able to receive 5 kilograms of free food grains in a completely transparent manner.
Highlighting welfare measures, Shri Shah said Prime Minister Modi has been providing 5 kilograms of free food grains per person per month to 80 crore people. He added that the Prime Minister Street Vendor AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme has extended benefits to 1 crore 9 lakh street vendors across the country. According to him, more than 60 crore people have witnessed improvement in their living standards in the past 10 years and 27 crore people have been lifted above the poverty line.
The Union Home Minister also contrasted agricultural spending under previous administrations with the current government. He said the agriculture budget, which stood at 26 thousand crore rupees under the previous government, has been increased to 1 lakh 29 thousand crore rupees. He added that while earlier governments announced farm loan waivers only once in several decades, the present government has been directly transferring 6,000 rupees annually into farmers’ bank accounts for the past 10 years, reducing dependence on loans.
Shri Amit Shah said the opposition is misleading farmers regarding the Free Trade Agreements signed with the European Union and United Kingdom and the trade deal with the United States of America. He said the earlier government had made farmers vulnerable by signing the Dunkel Proposal, whereas the current government has safeguarded farmers’ interests and protected the dairy sector through these agreements. He asserted that these trade arrangements have opened global markets for India’s agricultural and fisheries products and reaffirmed that the government would not compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and livestock rearers.
Concluding his address, Shri Shah said corruption and lack of transparency in food distribution have now been addressed through structural reforms and technology integration. He said the CBDC based Public Distribution System would ensure that the right to food for every poor citizen is secured without interference from middlemen.
