Free Foodgrains, Route Optimisation and Subsidy Reforms Anchor World's Largest Public Distribution System in India
India’s Department of Food and Public Distribution oversaw the implementation of sweeping changes in 2025 across procurement, storage, and distribution systems, reaffirming the centrality of the National Food Security Act and associated schemes that serve nearly 80 crore people.
As of December, free foodgrains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) were being delivered to about 80 crore beneficiaries, in line with the government's decision to extend free distribution for five years starting January 1, 2024.
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| Representational Image: Kurnool-Dist Collector inspecting Mid Day Meal |
For FY 2025–26, total foodgrain allocations reached 608.16 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) across schemes. Of this, 554.99 LMT was disbursed under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), including Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Household categories. An additional 51.65 LMT was allocated to other welfare schemes, including PM Poshan, nutrition programmes under ICDS, and hostels. Flood relief, festival-based and other contingency allocations totalled 1.52 LMT.
On technology and reform, 99.9% of ration cards are now Aadhaar-seeded, while 99.8% of over 5.5 lakh fair price shops have adopted electronic point-of-sale devices. More than 98% of transactions are now biometric or Aadhaar authenticated.
A new AI-based multilingual grievance platform, ASHA, was operationalised in 2025 to record beneficiary feedback via WhatsApp and IVRS under the IndiaAI initiative.
Portability continued to define India’s evolving food security model. The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme is now functional across all states and UTs.
During the first ten months of 2025, 32.6 crore portability transactions were recorded, distributing 64 LMT of foodgrains under NFSA and PMGKAY. More than 3.2 crore portability transactions are now conducted each month.
Subsidy transfers remained central to the government’s fiscal support to states. By November 26, ₹1.36 lakh crore was disbursed—₹86,517 crore to FCI and ₹50,391 crore to states under the decentralised procurement model. Total allocations for the fiscal stand at ₹2.03 lakh crore.
To reduce costs and emissions, the department completed the first phase of its route optimisation project—Anna Chakra—across 31 states. The programme uses algorithms developed by IIT Delhi and the World Food Programme to streamline warehouse-to-shop movements. States reported annualised savings of ₹238 crore, with average route distances reduced by up to 50% and CO₂ emissions cut by 35%.
On procurement, 300.35 LMT of wheat and 243.48 LMT of paddy were procured during Rabi and Kharif seasons, respectively, with over 2.1 crore farmers benefitting. Total Kharif procurement stood at 832.17 LMT. Procurement of coarse grains crossed 11.7 LMT in 2024–25, with 64,365 metric tonnes procured so far in the current KMS.
Modernisation of storage also progressed with construction under the Hub-and-Spoke steel silo model. Of the 34.875 LMT capacity awarded in Phase-I, 3.75 LMT is complete and 31.125 LMT is under construction. A further 25.125 LMT capacity has been sanctioned under Phase-II. Pilot rice silos have been completed in Bihar.
Digital oversight was enhanced through the Depot Darpan portal, which now tracks infrastructure and performance data of FCI and CWC warehouses using IoT and AI tools.
Warehousing operations under the Central Warehousing Corporation were integrated into a new ERP platform—Bhandaran 360—linking 41 modules and 35 external systems.
Under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic), 24.45 LMT of wheat and 31.71 LMT of rice were sold by FCI. Of this, 33.06 LMT of rice was sold to ethanol distilleries, while 3.34 LMT of Bharat Atta and 2.15 LMT of Bharat Rice were sold to general consumers at fixed MRP. Price revisions under Phase III of the programme became effective from November.
The year also saw rollout of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for e-NWR-based pledge financing with a corpus of ₹1,000 crore. Designed to increase post-harvest liquidity through electronic negotiable warehouse receipts, the scheme had onboarded 40 banks by November 30. Ninety-five guarantees worth ₹22.88 crore had been issued.
In the sugar sector, India reported 534 operational factories in the 2024–25 season, producing around 260–300 LMT of sugar from 4,500–5,000 LMT of cane.
With 30–40 LMT diverted to ethanol, cane dues clearance reached 98%, with ₹100,501 crore paid out of ₹102,687 crore owed. Ethanol blending reached 19.24% during the 2024–25 supply year, on track for the national target of 20% by 2025–26.
Ethanol distillation capacity increased to 1,953 crore litres, and total ethanol-linked revenue since 2014 surpassed ₹1.29 lakh crore. Investments worth ₹42,000 crore were recorded over the last decade, driven by policy incentives, according to the department.