THE 28-YEAR-OLD Jabalpur lad, Mridul Singhai developed a software that helped feed millions of people in America. The journey started in 2015, when Mridul received a full scholarship to Drexel University in Philadelphia. There, he noticed many neighbours who faced food insecurity due to limited access to affordable grocery stores. To address these issues, Mridul joined Instacart, a grocery technology company, after graduating in 2019. Instacart delivers groceries from 80,000 supermarkets to 98% of American postal codes and experienced a 15x surge in demand in March 2020. This surge strained operational and engineering systems. Isolated in his apartment, Mridul worked on the core engineering team, pulling 120- hour work weeks to help stabilise Instacart. In May 2020, Instacart was approached by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to launch a pilot programme to accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) of food s t a m p s online. EBT is the US Government’s method of providing direct food assistance to low-income groups. In 2020, 4.2 crore (of 33 crore) Americans received this aid. An EBT card allows its holder to buy eligible food items at authorised retailers.

 

Due to his technical prowess, business acumen and dedication to social good, Mridul was asked to lead the online EBT project just a few months into his job. Accepting EBT online is complex due to nascent operating procedures, high security requirements and the need to innovate new UX patterns to meet compliance standards. Additionally, ensuring transactional anonymity is crucial to address the stigma associated with receiving Government assistance. In just five months, Mridul’s cross-functional efforts led to Instacart becoming the first major provider to accept online EBT, allowing millions of Americans to order fresh food without leaving their homes during lockdown. Four years later, Instacart delivers hundreds of thousands of EBT orders weekly, reaching 97% of eligible recipients.

 

The son of Citybased Praveen Singhai, an expert in Water Resource and Dr Mamta Singhai, was even promoted to staff software engineer for his technical and business leadership, a position typically requiring a decade of experience. Mridul said, “India can look to the EBT as a model for improving the delivery of aid through its Public Distribution System (PDS). The PDS, while crucial in providing food and essentials to millions, is plagued by inefficiencies such as leakage, corruption and ineffective targeting. By developing a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, India can ensure that subsidies and benefits reach the intended recipients directly, reducing water and corruption while enhancing transparency and efficiency across the system.