Overview
- Union minister Pralhad Joshi launched the CBDC-based PMGKAY pilot in Puducherry on February 26 in the presence of the lieutenant governor and the chief minister.
- Under the scheme, programmable e-rupee tokens are credited to beneficiaries’ CBDC wallets and can be redeemed only for their entitled foodgrains at authorised merchants and fair price shops.
- The pilot is being run in coordination with the Puducherry government, the Reserve Bank of India, the Public Financial Management System and designated banking partner Canara Bank.
- The Centre will assess results from the limited Puducherry rollout before extending the model to three or four more states and union territories, including Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
- Officials say the system enables secure, traceable, real-time transactions, addresses biometric and e-POS issues, includes provisions for feature-phone users and helps beneficiaries locate authorised merchants.