The scheme seeks to strengthen fair price shops, modernise the public distribution system and provide assistance to state agencies for intra-state movement of food grains.
Calling it a “structural reform of the whole PDS system”, Vaishnaw said the initiative is not meant to replace the existing public distribution system but to improve transportation, logistics and material handling efficiencies across the network.
“This is not a replacement of the existing PDS. It is a reform to the PDS system’s transportation, logistics and material handling,” Vaishnaw said, adding that state governments would benefit from improved food distribution arrangements and more efficient supply chain operations.
The minister said the programme has been designed around three key pillars to improve efficiency, transparency and citizen engagement across the country’s food security architecture.
The first pillar, “Nirmal”, is an AI-driven real-time PDS beneficiary registry that will enable live inter-ministerial integration and cross-scheme cooperation to streamline welfare delivery and reduce duplication.The second pillar, “ASHA”, focuses on multilingual AI-powered grievance redressal and citizen engagement. Integrated with WhatsApp and chatbot services, the platform will be scalable to handle up to three lakh interactions per day, officials said.
The third pillar, “Saksham”, is an AI-enabled supply chain management platform featuring vehicle tracking, QR-code based traceability and demand forecasting tools aimed at improving logistics efficiency and monitoring food grain movement.
According to the Centre, the optimisation programme is expected to reduce travel distances for food grain transportation by 15-50%, improving operational efficiency and lowering logistics costs.
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Vaishnaw also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the issue of rapid climate change during the cabinet meeting, noting that the Prime Minister had recently highlighted the matter through a series of public posts on social media.
The government said the initiative forms part of a broader push towards technology-led governance and more targeted welfare delivery systems.