Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to inaugurate India’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based Public Distribution System (PDS) at the Mahatma Mandir in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. The initiative, led by the Gujarat Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, will facilitate subsidy transfers through the Reserve Bank of India-authorized CBDC platform.
The system, developed by the Punjab National Bank, will offer beneficiaries digital tokens in their wallets containing information about the commodity, quantity, and price. In the pilot phase, 26,333 families in the Sabarmati zone of Ahmedabad, as well as in Surat, Anand, and Valsad, have been included.
Beneficiaries with smartphones will verify transactions using QR codes, while those with feature phones will receive one-time passwords through an Aadhaar-based verification system. The launch event will be attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi, and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.
The state government will introduce the distribution of tur and chana in standardized one kg sealed packs for National Food Security Act beneficiaries, replacing loose distribution to ensure quality standards. An ‘Annapurti Grain ATM’ will also be introduced in the Sabarmati zone of Ahmedabad, capable of dispensing up to 25 kg of grain within 35 seconds.
