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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has recommended strengthening the Public Distribution System (PDS) through phased expansion of coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), faster adoption of SMART-PDS and improved beneficiary verification.
According to a press release, the Committee noted that reforms under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), including digitisation, Aadhaar seeding, Fair Price Shop (FPS) automation and the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, have significantly improved the system. However, it said gaps remain in supply-chain computerisation and beneficiary verification, and recommended continued de-duplication to ensure benefits reach eligible households. The panel also recommended fixing State and Union Territory-wise milestones for the phased rollout of SMART-PDS. It observed that NFSA coverage continues to be based on the 2011 Census despite nearly 79 lakh beneficiary slots remaining vacant. The Committee recommended verification and timely inclusion of eligible households, particularly vulnerable groups, within the existing NFSA ceiling. The Committee further noted that the Department has identified 2.91 crore suspected beneficiaries through data analytics under various red-flag categories. It recommended a time-bound field verification drive with safeguards and an effective grievance redressal mechanism to prevent wrongful exclusion of genuine beneficiaries, the release said. The panel also recommended expanding the pilot project for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based PDS subsidy delivery in a phased manner. It said the initiative has the potential to improve transparency, beneficiary targeting and curb leakages, while enabling real-time transaction monitoring and predictive analysis under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). According to the Committee, the pace of digitisation, Aadhaar seeding, ePoS deployment, monitoring systems and SMART-PDS implementation varies across States. It recommended creating a structured framework for sharing best practices from better-performing States with those lagging behind. (ANI)
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