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The Centre will launch CBDC-based Direct Benefit Transfer under PMGKAY in Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli on August 14. Eligible beneficiaries will receive food subsidies as programmable Digital Rupee tokens in CBDC wallets, usable at empanelled merchants. The rollout aims to reduce leakages, improve transparency and provide a scalable model for digital welfare delivery.

New Delhi: The Centre will launch the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli on August 14, a day ahead of Independence Day, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

Under the CBDC-based DBT model, eligible PMGKAY beneficiaries will receive their food subsidy directly into their CBDC wallets instead of conventional bank account transfers. The subsidy can then be used to purchase foodgrains from empanelled merchants through a secure, traceable and real-time digital payment mechanism, the statement said.

Union Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be present at the event along with senior officials.

Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are set to become the first Union Territories in the country to operationalise food subsidy transfers to all eligible PMGKAY beneficiaries in the form of programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC – Digital Rupee) tokens directly into their CBDC wallets.