# Chandigarh launches CBDC-based food subsidy transfers 2026-08-15T15:01:10+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday launched a central bank digital currency-based direct benefit transfer system for food subsidies in Chandigarh under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the first regions to operationalise the model, Hindustan Times reports. Eligible beneficiaries will receive subsidy tokens in CBDC wallets and use them to buy foodgrains from empanelled merchants. The system is designed to make payments traceable and restrict their use to food purchases. Households will also be able to choose pulses and other essentials along with wheat and rice. Officials have been asked to resolve operational problems before expansion. The scheme is part of a programme that provides free foodgrains to more than 800 million people. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: CBDC, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Shivraj Singh Chouhan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/chandigarh-launches-cbdc-based-food-subsidy-transfers/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/chandigarh-launches-cbdc-based-food-subsidy-transfers/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/