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New Digital Initiatives for PDS operations by the Union Food and Public Distribution Ministry

19 Nov 2025 GS 3 Economy
New Digital Initiatives for PDS operations by the Union Food and Public Distribution Ministry Click to view full image

Purpose of the initiatives

  • To modernise warehousing,

  • Improve supply chain efficiency,

  • Enhance transparency in the Public Distribution System (PDS),

  • Reduce logistics costs and turnaround time.

Key digital initiatives launched

1. ASHA (Anna Sahayata Holistic AI Solution)

  • AI-based platform for PDS beneficiary feedback.

  • Uses AI-enabled calls in regional languages.

  • Cost: ₹5 lakh → significantly cheaper than running a call centre.

  • Beneficiary feedback includes:

    • Whether full entitlement was received,

    • Foodgrain quality,

    • Issues at Fair Price Shops.

Features

  • Multilingual translation

  • Sentiment analysis

  • Automated grievance classification

  • Real-time dashboards

  • Reaches 20 lakh beneficiaries per month

  • Developed with Wadhwani Foundation

  • Supported by India AI Mission and Bhashini multilingual AI infrastructure

2. Bhandaran 360 (Central Warehousing Corporation’s ERP platform)

  • New enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

  • Implemented ahead of schedule.

  • Integrates 41 modules including:

    • HR

    • Finance

    • Marketing

    • Warehouse management

    • Contract management

    • Project monitoring

    • Other core operations

  • Goal: fully integrated digital warehousing operations.

3. Smart EXIM Warehouse System

  • Designed for container freight stations and general warehouses.

  • Enhances digital management of export–import warehousing.

4. ANNA DARPAN

  • New microservices-based platform replacing the Depot Online System.

  • Integrates activities across the food supply chain:

    • Procurement

    • Storage

    • Movement

    • Sales

    • Quality checks

    • Labour management

    • Contract monitoring

  • Acts as a single unified source of truth for:

    • Food Corporation of India (FCI)

    • Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD)

Prelims Practice MCQs

Q. With reference to the newly launched ASHA (Anna Sahayata Holistic AI Solution) platform, consider the following statements:

  1. It enables PDS beneficiaries to give feedback through AI-generated multilingual calls.

  2. It replaces the existing Depot Online System used by the Food Corporation of India.

  3. It uses sentiment analysis and automated grievance categorisation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 3 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B
(Statement 2 refers to ANNA DARPAN, not ASHA.)

Q. Bhandaran 360 recently seen in the news is:

A. A digital grievance-redressal platform for ration card holders
B. An ERP platform integrating multiple warehousing-related modules
C. A real-time dashboard for PDS monitoring
D. A logistics system under PM Gati Shakti

Answer: B

Q. With reference to the Smart EXIM Warehouse System, consider the following statements:

  1. It is meant for container freight stations and general warehouses.

  2. It is part of the government’s effort to modernise EXIM logistics infrastructure.

  3. It replaces the earlier Depot Online System.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 2 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B
(Statement 3 refers to ANNA DARPAN.)



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