Category IMPRI Research

SMART-PDS-2023-2026

SMART-PDS: Scheme for Modernization and Reform through Technology in Public Distribution System

SMART-PDS is a centrally sponsored, technology-oriented reform initiative by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, aimed at enhancing and consolidating the IT infrastructure of India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). With a total budget of ₹349.9 crore, the three-year (April 2023–March 2026) approved program builds on previous computerisation attempts (End-to-End TPDS and the Integrated Management of PDS/IM-PDS) and introduces a modern, standardized national platform that unifies state and central operations throughout the PDS lifecycle.

Innovation

India–New Zealand: Agri -Tech Innovation

India–New Zealand Agri-Tech Innovation is emerging as more than a technical exchange; it is a contest over models of innovation and inclusion. At a time when agriculture faces the twin pressures of climate resilience and global market integration. The partnership can be transformational, but only if deliberate adaptation, rights-based data governance, and financing follow the technology. Without these, the result risks being one of two failures: techno-dumping (NZ solutions ill-fitted to India) or stalled scalability (India pilots remaining fragmented). 

Copy of Insights 13

Rethinking GST: Structural Reforms over Simplistic Slab Reductions

There is much talk of the proposed simplification of India’s complex GST regime. Prime minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, said, "…The government will implement next generation GST reforms which will bring down tax burden on the common man."

PU insights poster.zip 10

Scheme For Modernisation And Reform Through Technology In Public Distribution System

SMART-PDS is a centrally sponsored, technology-oriented reform initiative by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, aimed at enhancing and consolidating the IT infrastructure of India’s Public Distribution System (PDS).

gst

GST 2.0 – A step today, uniformity tomorrow

India’s proposed GST 2.0 is being framed as the biggest reform to the indirect tax system since 2017: India’s upcoming GST 2.0 announcement, slated for implementation by Diwali, is being widely promoted in the media as a “Diwali gift”—a measure to reduce burdens on everyday consumers. Prime Minister Modi’s Independence Day speech has already prompted headlines calling it “a brighter gift of simpler taxes” and a “gamechanger” for GST.

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