Current Affairs - Banking - Discussion

Chandigarh and Dadra Nagar Haveli became the first Union Territories to implement CBDC-based food subsidy transfers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The initiative uses programmable Digital Rupee tokens to transfer food subsidies directly into beneficiaries’ CBDC wallets instead of traditional bank accounts. Beneficiaries can use these tokens to purchase foodgrains from empanelled merchants through real-time digital payments. The rollout aims to reduce leakages, diversion, and cash-handling issues in subsidy delivery. It follows earlier pilot implementations in Puducherry and Gujarat and represents a major step toward fully digital welfare delivery.