States' News

CBDC-Based Food Subsidy Transfers

August 19 , 2026 13 hrs 0 min 64 0

Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli have become the first Union Territories (UTs) to provide food subsidy transfers to eligible beneficiaries through Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The subsidy will be transferred directly to beneficiaries’ Digital Rupee (e₹) wallets instead of conventional bank accounts.
Payments can be made using Quick Response (QR) codes on smartphones or One-Time Passwords (OTPs) on feature phones.
The initiative is the first large-scale use of CBDC in a Central Government welfare programme and follows pilot projects in Gujarat and Puducherry.
CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) is a sovereign digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The system aims to improve transparency, traceability and financial inclusion in food subsidy delivery under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).