The Union Cabinet has cleared Rs 25,530 crore for the extension of the ‘Sarthak-PDS’ scheme. The amount will support state agencies for the intra-state movement of food grains and the modernisation of the public distribution system. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the ‘Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS’ (Sarthak-PDS) as an umbrella scheme, in the 16th Finance Commission cycle award period. According to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the scheme will be implemented over five years, from April 2026 to March 2031.
Revision in norms
The CCEA has also cleared a revision in norms governing Central assistance to states and union territories for intra-state movement and handling of foodgrains, along with fair price shop (FPS) dealers’ margins, while retaining the existing funding pattern.
SARTHAK-PDS has been conceived as an umbrella scheme, consolidating two existing programmes – “Assistance to State Agencies for Intra-State Movement of Foodgrains and FPS Dealers’ Margin under NFSA” and the “Scheme for Modernisation and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System (SMART PDS).”
Implementation of NFSA
The merger is aimed at comprehensively strengthening the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), by bringing financial assistance and technology modernisation under a single administrative framework.
“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 with an outlay of Rs 25,530 crore for five years,” he said.
The state governments were facing difficulties in bearing the cost of transportation of foodgrain to the PDS shops. This cost will be supported under the scheme wherein FPS dealers’ remuneration will also be enhanced, Vaishnaw said.
