New Delhi, May 28 -- India's public distribution system (PDS) could soon start using artificial intelligence (AI) to track food grain movement, handle citizen complaints on WhatsApp and phone calls, and identify beneficiaries in real time under the Rs.25,530 crore extension of the 'Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS' (Sarthak-PDS) scheme, approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday. The scheme now extends for five more years from April 2026 to March 2031 and aims to modernise the country's PDS, which distributes subsidised food grains through ration shops. As part of the upgrade, the government plans to introduce three AI-enabled systems under SMART PDS Phase 2, with extended support from theIndia AI Mission under the IT ministry. Union information & broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at a media briefing on cabinet decisions in New Delhi, said the Cabinet approved three major reforms to Sarthak-PDS: financial assistance to states for internal movement of food grains, support for fair price shops, and funding for wider PDS modernisation. "This is a huge structural reform in the PDS system, in the entire delivery system, logistics, transportation, material handling and for redressal of grievances of the PDS beneficiaries," Vaishnaw said. "Under this programme, a basic ration is provided to 800 million citizens every month," the union minister said. One of the AI systems, NIRMAL, will create a real-time, AI-based registry of PDS beneficiaries and enable integration with other government schemes and ministries. A second system, ASHA, will be a multilingual AI grievance platform able to interact with citizens through calls, WhatsApp, IVRS and chatbots. The government says ASHA can handle up to 300,000 interactions a day, up from the current 200,000 calls made to beneficiaries each month. The third system, SAKSHAM, will apply AI to supply-chain management, including vehicle tracking, QR-code tracingof food-grain bags, demandforecasting and route optimisation....