Cabinet nod for Shakti scheme smart cards to streamline zero ticket system

The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the distribution of smart cards to beneficiaries of the State’s flagship Shakti Scheme, nearly two-and-a-half years after the scheme was launched.

‘Will take time’

Speaking to The Hindu, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the cards will be distributed free of cost to beneficiaries. “We are planning to distribute through the Seva Sindhu portal or through Bangalore One and Karnataka One centres upon registration. However, the rollout may take some time as the cards have to be manufactured,” Mr. Reddy said.

“The smart card will help the government accurately record the actual number of passengers who have travelled and enable the generation of reliable data,” Mr. Reddy added.

Introduced on June 11, 2023, as the first of the Congress government’s five guarantees, the Shakti scheme allows women, including transgender persons and students, to travel free of cost on non-premium State-run buses. The scheme has since emerged as one of the most popular welfare initiatives in the State and even earned a place in the Golden Book of World Records for ferrying the highest number of women passengers under a free-travel programme.

According to official data as of February 10, 2026, as many as 666,92,61,660 women passengers have travelled under the scheme across Karnataka. The total ticket value of women passengers travelled stands at ₹17,271,11,35,254.

Data accuracy

Despite its success, the smart card system, envisioned to streamline ticketing and improve data collection, had remained in the pipeline.

At present, women passengers can avail themselves of a ‘zero ticket’ by showing any valid government-issued identity card to conductors. However, officials said there were instances where a few passengers produced identity cards that were “not valid or duplicate” to claim zero tickets. The scheme is meant exclusively for women domiciled in Karnataka.

An official said that the smart card was very much necessary for the conductors also as there were cases where few conductors were also issuing zero tickets without any person travelling to show or to increase the number of passengers leading to incorrect data.

Official added, “Manually verifying identity cards in crowded buses often delays conductors’ work. With smart cards, conductors can generate tickets quickly by either visually verifying the card or tapping it on the Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM), eliminating delays caused by checking identity documents”.