Parliamentary panel urges wider CBDC food-coupon pilots for PDS
A parliamentary panel has recommended scaling RBI’s CBDC-enabled food-coupon pilots beyond parts of Gujarat and Puducherry, positioning restricted-use, traceable transfers as a way to curb leakage and improve subsidy delivery for India’s 800 million PMGKAY beneficiaries.
What happened
Reserve Bank of India · A parliamentary panel recommended expanding RBI CBDC food-coupon pilots for PDS ration distribution, citing instant, traceable and
Key facts
- 5 kg free foodgrains monthly per beneficiary
- 800 million PMGKAY beneficiaries
- Rs 2.4 lakh crore annual subsidy outlay
- Rs 200 crore released under DBT in FY26
- 7.9 million additional beneficiaries recommended
- 813 million statutory beneficiary coverage
- 6.77 crore ration cards weeded out between 2013 and December 2025
- More than 99.8% of ration cards Aadhaar-seeded
- 99.3% of beneficiaries Aadhaar-seeded
Why this matters
Payments, retail-tech and fintech companies should seek partnerships with banks, PDS platforms and state governments to supply merchant onboarding, coupon controls, analytics and last-mile acceptance infrastructure.