In a defining moment for India’s public distribution reforms, Assam has achieved a major milestone by recording over 35 lakh PDS transactions in a single day—the highest ever documented under any pan-India PDS initiative. This historic feat was accomplished during the state’s mega premonsoon distribution drive in June 2025.
At the heart of this success lies the SMART Public Distribution System (SMART PDS), developed and deployed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The system demonstrated exceptional resilience and scalability by managing three times the average system load, ensuring seamless service delivery across all districts of Assam.
Key Features:
- Robust Load Management: The SMART PDS infrastructure efficiently handled a threefold surge in digital transactions without any service disruption, reaffirming Assam’s preparedness for high-volume public service operations.
- Comprehensive Statewide Rollout: The ration distribution drive extended across all 35 districts, covering both rural and urban populations and ensuring uninterrupted food security ahead of the monsoon season.
- Technology-Driven Delivery: More than 15,000 Fair Price Shops across the state operated through Electronic Point of Sale (ePOS) devices, enabling real-time biometric authentication and significantly reducing pilferage.
- One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) Enabled: The ONORC scheme was fully functional across Assam, allowing beneficiaries—including migrant workers and urban poor—to access their entitlements from any location with in the state.
This achievement marks a paradigm shift in the administration of welfare schemes, blending technology, infrastructure, and responsive governance. The Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Assam, termed it a “decisive leap forward in ensuring food security through digital empowerment.”
Officials from NIC noted that Assam’s accomplishment underscores the transformative potential of SMART PDS, stating: “This milestone is a testament to what is possible when scalable technology solutions align with administrative vision. Assam has set a new benchmark for the nation.”
With this achievement, Assam has not only met the immediate challenge of pre-monsoon food distribution but has also emerged as a national model for tech-enabled, transparent, and citizen-centric public service delivery.
