PM unveils key projects in Gujarat

Published By : Admin | December 15, 2020 | 14:30 IST
One has to keep up with the changing times and embrace global best practices : PM
We are committed to farmer welfare and we will keep assuring the farmers and addressing their concerns: PM
Kutch has taken a big leap in both new age technology and new age economy: PM

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today unveiled various developmental projects in Gujarat.These projects include a desalination plant, a hybrid renewable energy park, and a fully automated milk processing and packing plant. The Chief Minister of Gujarat was present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said one has to keep up with the changing times and embrace global best practices. He lauded the farmers in Kutch in this regard, as they are now exporting fruits abroad. He said this indicates the innovative zeal of our farmers. He said the agriculture, dairy and fisheries sectors have prospered in Gujarat over the last two decades due to minimum interference from the Government. What Gujarat did was to empower farmers and cooperatives.

The Prime Minister said that farmers are being misled about the agriculture reforms. He pointed out that the agriculture reforms that have taken place is exactly what farmer bodies and even opposition parties have been asking over the years. He reiterated that the Government of India is always committed to farmer welfare and we will keep assuring the farmers, addressing their concerns.

The Prime Minister said, today, Kutch has taken a big leap in both new age technology and new age economy. Foundation stone laid for the Renewable Energy Park in Kharera, Desalination plant in Mandvi and the New Automatic plant at Sarhad Dehri in Anjar are going to create new milestones in the development journey of Kutch. He added that the benefit of these projects would accrue to the tribals, farmers, cattle ranchers and common people of the region. He remarked that today, Kutch is one of the fastest growing regions of the country. The connectivity here is getting better day by day.

The Prime Minister recalled the moment in time when the people of Gujarat had a ‘simple’ demand - to get electricity during dinner time. He said things have changed so much in Gujarat. Today’s youth in Gujarat are not even aware of the earlier days of inconvenience, he said. The Prime Minister recalled that the population in Kutch used to have negative growth. Now that people have stopped going out, the population is thriving as people are coming back .He called upon the researchers and universities to do a case-study on Kutch's four-fold development post the massive earthquake.

He lauded the Gujarat Government for introducing many farmer friendly schemes in the last twenty years. He said Gujarat was a pioneer to work on strengthening solar energy capacities.

The Prime Minister remarked that Energy security and water security are vital in the 21st century. He said that the early teams were mocked when they spoke of getting Narmada waters to Kutch to solve the problem of scarcity. Now, Narmada waters have reached Kutch and Kutch is progressing.

 

 

 

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Cabinet approves integration and continuation of two schemes under umbrella scheme SARTHAK-PDS
May 27, 2026
Centre to spend Rs. 25,530 crore in next 5 years for SARTHAK PDS
Continuation of schemes to ensure last-mile delivery of Food grains with higher FPS Dealers’ commission
Government strive for intelligently optimized PDS operations through advanced technologies to ensure transparency, security and sustainability in PDS operations

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the continuation of the “Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS” (SARTHAK PDS) as an umbrella scheme, in the 16th Finance Commission cycle award period, with an outlay of Rs. 25,530 crore as Central share.

The CCEA has also decided to revise the norms of Central assistance for meeting expenditure incurred by States/UTs intra-state movement & handling of foodgrains and FPS dealers’ margin and continuation of the existing funding pattern of Central Assistance.

The Scheme is conceived as an umbrella scheme integrating the ongoing schemes: (i) “Assistance to State Agencies for intra-State movement of foodgrains and FPS dealers’ margin under NFSA” and (ii) “Scheme for Modernization and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System (SMART PDS)” to comprehensively strengthen implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

SARTHAK-PDS Scheme aims to provide (a) assured financial support for intra-State movement, handling and FPS dealer’s margin, and (b) a unified, citizen-centric, intelligent and interoperable PDS architecture that ensures last-mile service delivery, minimizes leakages and strengthens the nation’s commitment to food security under NFSA, with the merged scheme to operate up to 31.03.2031.

SARTHAK-PDS Scheme seeks to modernize, integrate and intelligently optimize PDS operations through advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Blockchain, by creating standardized architectures and unified databases for real-time monitoring, AI-driven grievance and analytics systems, State Command Control Centres for data-driven oversight, and ISO-certified process frameworks to ensure transparency, security and sustainability in PDS operations.

Government of India has a social & legal commitment to the people of the nation - a dignified life by ensuring them access to food and nutritional security through the availability of adequate quantities of quality food grains. The Scheme will work towards fulfilling the Government of India's commitment to 81.35 crore persons covered under NFSA. Building on the statutory and policy framework, SARTHAK-PDS retains and streamlines the financial assistance component while simultaneously embedding it within a modern, technology-driven PDS ecosystem.

Over the past decade, the Government has implemented multiple digitization initiatives such as End-to-End Computerization of TPDS, Integrated Management of PDS (IM-PDS) and SMART PDS, along with citizen-facing applications like Mera Ration, Anna Mitra, Rightful Targeting Dashboard and Anna Sahayata, and since 1st April 2023, the SMART PDS scheme has acted as the cornerstone of technology-led reforms by enabling complete digitization of ration cards, Aadhaar seeding, FPS automation through e-PoS, online allocation and computerized supply-chain management across 36 States/UTs.