Now Reading: Chandigarh first to roll out digital rupee for food subsidy
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Chandigarh first to roll out digital rupee for food subsidy
Chandigarh will become the first Union Territory to launch a full-scale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for food subsidy under PMGKAY on August 14. The digital rupee,…
The Story in Brief
Chandigarh will become the first Union Territory to launch a full-scale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for food subsidy under PMGKAY on August 14. The digital rupee, issued by the RBI, will be programmed so beneficiaries can only use it to buy wheat and rice from authorised merchants by scanning a QR code. The system builds on the existing DBT model introduced in Chandigarh in 2015. The launch event will be attended by Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi, who will also remotely extend the initiative to Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The Indian Opinion
The digital rupee shift for PMGKAY is being sold as a leap in transparency, but the real test is inclusion. Chandigarh’s pilot had select beneficiaries; a full rollout risks leaving out those without smartphones or reliable internet. The hype around programmability ignores that previous DBT also worked through Aadhaar-linked accounts. The question is not whether the technology is clever, but how many families will actually be able to scan that QR code and buy their wheat.
Sources (2): rediff.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
