India's Digitization Revolution: Transforming Public Food Distribution

India's push for digitisation has revolutionized its Public Distribution System, serving over 806 million beneficiaries. The initiative has removed fake ration cards, ensured biometric authentication, and improved supply chain management, setting new global standards for food security programs.

India's ambitious digitisation drive has reshaped its Public Distribution System (PDS), turning it into a global standard-bearer for food security initiatives, according to the Union Food Ministry's announcement on Wednesday.

The overhaul has seen the removal of 58 million fake ration cards using Aadhaar-based authentication and electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) processes. This has significantly reduced leakages and improved the targeting of resources.

Nearly all ration cards have been digitised, with over 99% linked to Aadhaar numbers. The government has deployed more than 530,000 e-PoS devices across the country to facilitate Aadhaar-verified distributions, ensuring that only eligible beneficiaries receive state-sponsored aid.

(With inputs from agencies.)