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.
A parliamentary panel recommended expanding RBI CBDC food-coupon pilots for PDS ration distribution, citing instant, traceable and restricted-use transfers. Pilots operate in parts of Gujarat and Puducherry, with more trials likely to assess leakage reduction and subsidy-delivery efficiency.
Why this matters
The recommendation adds a subsidy-delivery use case to RBI’s retail agenda, following signals on food stocks buffering inflation and rising unsecured household credit.
Omni-channel is steady, with 1,446 signals recorded in the past 90 days.