SMART PDS: State AePDS Portals, Anna Darpan and the SARTHAK-PDS Merger

SMART PDS (Scheme for Modernisation and Reforms through Technology in PDS) is the Department of Food and Public Distribution’s scheme for running the ration system on technology: digitised ration cards, Aadhaar seeding, e-PoS machines at fair price shops and computerised supply chains. It has driven these reforms across all 36 states and UTs since 1 April 2023, and in May 2026 it was folded into a new umbrella scheme, SARTHAK-PDS. Most people who search for it want something practical: the state “smart pds” portal where they can see whether their ration was drawn this month.

The confusion is that SMART PDS sounds like one website. It isn’t. It’s a central scheme, and what citizens actually open are state portals, several of which happen to sit at smartpds addresses (Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana). Those dashboards show ration transactions; they don’t issue ration cards. And Anna Darpan, often searched alongside, is the Food Corporation of India’s internal supply-chain portal, not a citizen service at all.

SMART PDS at a glance

The scheme sits under the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, while states run the shops and the cards. Here is the map.

What SMART PDS covers

SMART PDS digitises the whole ration chain, from the grain bought at MSP to the kilo handed over at the shop. A PIB explainer of 15 October 2025 described its four modules:

• foodgrain procurement;
• supply chain management and allocation of grain;
• ration card and fair price shop (FPS) management;
• biometric-based grain distribution, the e-KYC module.

The idea is one standard software stack instead of each state building its own. By 31 December 2025, DFPD’s year-end review reported 100 percent digitisation of ration card data, about 20.55 crore ration cards covering 79.8 crore beneficiaries on state transparency portals, Aadhaar seeding of over 99.9 percent of cards, and 5.50 lakh of 5.51 lakh fair price shops working with e-PoS (electronic point of sale) devices. More than 98 percent of transactions were biometrically authenticated.

That biometric step is why the scheme matters to an ordinary cardholder. When the shop’s e-PoS machine checks your fingerprint against Aadhaar, the sale is logged in real time, and that log is what you can later look up on your state’s portal. The PDS explainer covers how the system grew from the 1960s to here.

SARTHAK-PDS: what changed in 2026

On 27 May 2026, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved SARTHAK-PDS (Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS). It merges two schemes:

1. Assistance to State Agencies for intra-State movement of foodgrains and FPS dealers’ margin under NFSA.
2. SMART PDS.

The merged scheme carries a Central share of Rs 25,530 crore for the 16th Finance Commission period and runs to 31 March 2031. The CCEA also revised the norms of central help for intra-state transport, handling and dealers’ margin. On the technology side, PIB says it will use AI, machine learning, natural language processing and blockchain, with unified databases, AI-driven grievance systems and State Command Control Centres.

For a cardholder, nothing changes overnight. Your card, your shop and your entitlement stay the same (the entitlement itself is set by the NFSA, whose proposed changes are discussed in this note on the AAY entitlement debate); SMART PDS simply continues as a component inside a bigger scheme. The current-affairs note on SARTHAK-PDS covers the policy detail.

State SMART PDS portals and what each does

Each state runs its own portals, and they come in two kinds. The AePDS (Aadhaar enabled Public Distribution System) dashboard shows shop-wise and card-wise transactions. The ration card or department portal handles applications, card searches, corrections and helplines. Keep them apart and you’ll stop looking for the wrong button.

The Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar AePDS dashboards share one design, with menus named MIS, FPS, Sales, UIDAI, Allotment, Annavitran, RO Status, Reports and Change Statement, so the steps below work on all four. Each home page also shows the month’s numbers: total cards, cards that drew ration, portability cards and the share of transactions completed.

For Uttar Pradesh, the UP ration card list guide shows how to find your name, and the ration card download guide covers printing an e-card in other states.

How to check your ration transactions on a smart pds portal

The Beneficiary Details report shows what was drawn against your card in a given month. Keep your ration card (RC) number ready.

1. Open your state’s AePDS portal, for example smartpds.jharkhand.gov.in.
2. Go to Reports on the home page and click Beneficiary Details.
3. Choose the Month and the Year.
4. Type your ration card number in RC No.
5. Enter the Captcha and click Submit.

The result lists the transactions for that card in that month. If it shows a sale you didn’t receive, note the date and shop, because that is exactly the evidence a complaint needs.

Other reports in the same Reports menu are useful too:

• FPS Status and FPS Transactions show whether your shop is open and distributing.
• Portability Details and ONORC show sales made under One Nation One Ration Card, when a family draws ration away from its home shop.
• % Distribution Status shows how far the month’s distribution has progressed in your district.

Mera Ration 2.0 for cardholders

If you’d rather use a phone, DFPD launched the Mera Ration 2.0 app on 20 August 2024. Its FAQ lists four main features:

• ration card details;
• monthly entitlement of foodgrains;
• transaction history;
• the nearest fair price shop.

It also lets you file a grievance and track it, and it explains portability under One Nation One Ration Card. For a migrant worker, the app is the quickest way to see that entitlement is intact before walking into an unfamiliar shop.

What Anna Darpan is, and why you won’t log in

Anna Darpan is FCI’s integrated supply chain management system. According to a PIB backgrounder of 23 November 2024, it links operations at every level of the Corporation (owned and hired depots, divisional, regional and zonal offices and headquarters) for end-to-end tracking of grain. It is meant for FCI staff, not the public, which is why there’s no citizen login.

It sits in a family of FCI and DFPD systems that are easy to mix up:

• Central Food Procurement Portal (CFPP) pools MSP procurement data from across India.
• Depot Darpan, launched on 20 May 2025, rates storage depots on infrastructure and operations.
• Anna Mitra is a mobile app for FPS dealers, food inspectors and district supply officers.
• Anna Sahayata is the grievance system for PMGKAY beneficiaries, working over WhatsApp, IVRS and speech recognition.

So Anna Darpan is where grain is tracked before it reaches your state; SMART PDS and the state portals track it from the state godown to your hand. The note on FCI depot performance shows how these ratings are being used.

Documents and fees

Checking transactions needs only your ration card number; nothing is uploaded and no fee is charged on the AePDS dashboards. Applying for a new card or adding a member happens on the state ration card portal, which lists its own documents.

One step now gates many applications: e-KYC. Jharkhand’s Aahar portal, for example, says e-KYC is available on the e-POS machine at your ration dealer, that every member should complete it, and that pending applications for a new card or a new member will be approved only after e-KYC. Visit your dealer with each family member before chasing the application office.

Common problems and fixes

Most failed lookups and missing rations trace to a few causes:

• RC number not found. You may be on another state’s portal, or using an old card number. Check the number on your e-card or ask your dealer.
• Sale shown that you didn’t receive. Take a screenshot of the Beneficiary Details result and complain on 1967 or the state helpline.
• Biometric fails at the shop. Complete or update e-KYC on the dealer’s e-POS machine; if fingerprints fail repeatedly, ask the supply office about the alternatives your state allows.
• New card or member pending. Finish e-KYC for all members; Jharkhand approves such applications only after it.
• Ration drawn elsewhere. Check Portability Details; another family member may have drawn it under One Nation One Ration Card.

Where to complain

Every state and UT runs the 1967 helpline or its own 1800 series number for PDS complaints, as DFPD’s PIB explainer of October 2025 confirms, and DFPD’s website lists 1967 as its toll-free number. You can also file through the Mera Ration 2.0 app. PIB notes that complaints reaching DFPD, including about corruption or embezzlement, are sent to the state government concerned for inquiry, because states run the shops. For serious or repeated diversion, the district supply office is the office with powers over the dealer. The food security note explains why the NFSA puts this responsibility on states.

Frequently Asked Questions