An important decision has been taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This decision of the cabinet will have a direct impact on 80 crore people taking ration. The government took a big decision regarding the ration system (PDS- Public Distribution System). For this, ‘Sarthak-PDS’ scheme has been started. About Rs 25,530 crore will be spent on this entire scheme.

Three major changes in PDS scheme

After the Union Cabinet meeting, Ashwini Vaishnav said that a program is going on to provide ration to 80 crore people in the country. Three changes have been made in this meaningful PDS scheme. These include helping the state government, taking the help of technology and now registration of PDS beneficiaries will be done under AI.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, ‘State governments were facing financial problems in transporting food grains from the big warehouses of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to different districts, blocks and finally to the ration shops. Now the central government will provide financial assistance to the states.

The second change is that the commission of ration shopkeepers (dealers) will be increased. The Union Minister said, ‘The commission of dealers giving ration had not increased for a long time. There was also a continuous demand to increase the dealer’s commission. Today, accepting their demand, the government has decided to increase their commission.

The third and last change is that new technology will be used in it to make the entire ration system more modern and transparent. The Union Minister said, ‘The government will bear the expense of providing ration from this huge budget. It will increase the earnings of shopkeepers and make the entire system digital and modern.

Government’s preparation to deal with heat wave

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, ‘The current heat wave situation was discussed with all the ministers. Many tweets were made to convey the Prime Minister’s message to the nation. In response to that message, specific steps were discussed that each ministry and department can take within their respective limits.

He said, ‘Measures were discussed to provide relief and ensure the safety of Indian citizens during the heat wave, with special focus on the facilities and measures that can be implemented in the Ministry of Health, water resources sector and other related areas. The Prime Minister said very clearly that when we have to face such big challenges, we should move forward towards them with the ‘sentiment of the entire nation’.

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