11833 - Punjab to have PoS at fair price shops- PTI News

• Punjab to have PoS at fair price shops
• 18:26 HRS IST

Chandigarh, Aug 20 (PTI) Punjab's food and civil supplies department is in the process of acquiring Point of Sale (PoS) machines for fair price shops to bring transparency in distribution and check pilferage under the PDS.

The machines are handheld devices which will allow Aadhaar authentication at the moment of distribution, ensuring that beneficiaries receive their allocated ration, a spokesperson said.

The PoS machine also has a scale, which will ensure that the beneficiary receives their full amount of ration.

Additionally, these PoS machines allow real time location information, allowing the department to track the movement of food grains from storage godowns to the receipt of ration beneficiary at the Point of Sale, the spokesperson said.

All such information allows for greater transparency and accountability in the scheme, effectively eliminating the chances of pilferage, and increasing the management capability of the department, he said.

The spokesperson said the device related to the computerisation of operations at fair price shops is based on Aadhaar authentication.

All fair price shops (FPSs) will be equipped with PoS terminals for the purpose of authenticating and verifying beneficiaries before commodity distribution, he said.

One crucial feature of the process is that the closing balances were updated in database through all PoS transaction from FPS.

PoS terminal comes with in-built finger print scanner designed for Public Distribution System (PDS) and all Aadhaar based transactions, the spokesperson said.

It was based on charge coupled device (CCD) finger print and comes with connectivity options like GSM/GPRS, CDMA and Ethernet, he said.

Apart from this, POS supports interfaces with all types of payment gateways and Aadhaar server with related logical interfaces for magnetic stripe reader and smart card reader for Aadhaar authentication.

Spokesperson said that it would reduce diversion, besides ensuring transparency in the movement of wheat from de-centralised procurement (DCP) godown to the Point of Sale.

10365 - PDS beneficiaries to carry smart cards from next year - The Hindu

RAMANATHAPURAM, August 27, 2016

PDS beneficiaries to carry smart cards from next year

“Point of Sale device introduced at 20,000 fair price shops”

Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection S. Gopalakrishnan has said credit card-like smart cards would replace the existing book-type family cards when the validity of the cards expired by the year end.

Talking to reporters after chairing a review meeting with Collector S. Natarajan and officials on automation and computerisation of public distribution system (PDS) here on Friday, he said printing of smart cards would begin soon after creation of new family card database based on information collected from Aadhaar cards was completed.

The process of creating family card data was going on in full swing and expected to be completed by September-end. On collection of the data, valid and updated information of PDS beneficiaries would be available for issue of smart cards.

He said salesmen in about 20,000 of the 35,000 fair price shops in the State had been provided with ‘Point of Sale’ devices to capture Aadhaar-linked data. Salesmen in Chennai and Coimbatore regions would be given the devices in the coming days, he said.

Pointing out that nearly 6.5 crore of the seven crore people in the State had got Aadhaar cards, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said the remaining 50 lakh cards were in the pipeline. Production of Aadhaar cards for updating the data of PDS beneficiaries was not a problem.

“The existing ration cards will be allowed to expire by December-end, and there is no question of pasting additional pages,” he said, adding the beneficiaries could use the smart cards from January 2017.

Computerisation of the PDS would ensure total transparency in distribution of essential commodities at all levels, he said.

The card holders would get information through their mobile phones the moment they purchased essential items from a particular shop. Besides, officials and the public could monitor the stock positions in fair price shops by visiting the official website. After completing the process, the government was hopeful of plugging leakages and wiping out bogus ration cards, he added.

10358 - “Give Aadhaar card numbers to ration shop staff”

NAGAPATTINAM, August 25, 2016

“Give Aadhaar card numbers to ration shop staff”

“SUBMIT AADHAAR NUMBERS”

Details of about 3.62 lakh ration cardholders have so far been entered in the Point of Sales machines in ration shops as part of the computerisation of the public distribution system in the district. The district has a total of 4,54,321 cardholders, Collector S.Palanisamy said in a press release.

The cardholders are required to provide their mobile phone numbers and Aadhaar card numbers. About 59 per cent of cardholders’ mobile phone numbers have been registered so far. However, only 14 per cent of the cardholders have provided their Aadhaar numbers, which are required to issue smart cards. He urged cardholders to submit the numbers at the earliest.

10269 - “Register Aadhaar cards in ration shops by August” - The Hindu

MADURAI, July 23, 2016

“Register Aadhaar cards in ration shops by August”

• STAFF REPORTER

Following announcement by the State government on Thursday that smart cards will replace ration cards by end of this year, the district administration here has urged the public to link their Aadhaar cards with ration cards by August 31 as it was a prerequisite for issuing smart cards later.

A press communiqué issued by the district administration said that sale in all the 1,389 ration shops in the district would happen only through the Point of Sale (PoS) device from 1st of August. “The PoS device will bring transparency and fix leakages as stock availability and supplies bought can be easily tracked. Consumers will get messages on their phone regarding the purchase,” said an official from the district administration.

According to a senior official from the District Supply Office, as on Friday, about 69 per cent of people in the district had linked their mobile numbers with the PoS while only 49 percent have linked their Aadhaar cards.

The officer, however, said that supplies would not be cut, if Aadhaar cards were not registered.

“However, we really hope that majority of the people will come forward to complete the registration by August 31 as we need the data for issuing smart cards,” the official said. A large number of people were thronging the e-service centres in Collectorate premises last month to get their Aadhaar cards printed fearing that the ration supplies would be cut for those who did not register.

10175 - No deadline to link Aadhaar cards with ration cards: Collector - Hindu

MADURAI, June 29, 2016

No deadline to link Aadhaar cards with ration cards: Collector

“Ration supplies will not be cut if public have not linked Aadhaar cards”

Following informal communication by ration shop employees to the public that their ration supplies will be cut if Aadhaar cards of all the family members are not linked to ration cards by July 30, hundreds of people have been flocking the e-service centres to get their Aadhaar cards printed.

However, with only less than 25 per cent of the 9.39 lakh cardholders in the district linking their Aadhaar cards so far, the target of the District Supply Office (DSO) to finish the exercise by the end of July looked unattainable.

“Earlier, only the Aadhaar of the family head should be linked. Now, they say Aadhaar numbers of all the family members in the ration card should be linked,” said N. Dhanalakshmi, a resident of Anuppanadi, who had been visiting an e-service centre in the Collectorate for the third consecutive day to get Aadhaar card printed.

The problem was complicated by the insistence of ration shop employees for plastic Aadhaar cards, which can be printed only at select e-service centres, instead of those downloaded and printed from the internet.

“They say that the machine (Point of Sale (PoS) equipment) will not recognize Aadhaar cards printed in internet centres,” said K. Nagamuthu from Mathichiyam.

“However, there is huge delay in e-service centres because of the increasing crowd,” he added.

Speaking on anonymity, a ration shop employee, however, said that even the Aadhaar cards printed from internet centres would be recognised by PoS device, provided they were printed clearly.

“The PoS device operates with a SIM card for internet connection. However, in a few outlets located in remote areas, there is no coverage for the SIM cards, which are from a private company,” he said.

To quell the anxieties of the public, Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao on Monday said that there was no deadline and ration supplies would not be cut for those who had not linked their Aadhaar cards.

“On Monday, he convened a meeting and instructed Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, officials of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department and DSO to ensure that rumours were not spread about stopping of supplies,” a senior official from DSO said.

10173 - Machine fails to read fingerprints, 1.4cr Rajasthanis go without ration - TNN

Machine fails to read fingerprints, 1.4cr Rajasthanis go without ration

Rosamma Thomas | TNN | Jun 28, 2016, 06.20 AM IST

Jaipur: They were meant to ease processes and clean up corruption in distributing food grain to the poor. Instead, the e-Point of Sale (PoS) machines have thrown up more problems than solutions. 

Each of these devices costs roughly Rs 17,000. They are programmed to read fingerprints of those registered to receive subsidized grain, connect to the Aadhaar database over the Internet and authenticate the recipient.

Clearly, things aren't playing out to script. In the past two years, over 1.4 crore beneficiaries have been dropped from the list, without being informed. Transaction summary data released by the state government shows that for the month of May , only 44.4 lakh transactions occurred for wheat grains. "That's less than half the number of those eligible, not counting those whose names were deleted," says Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan.

Rajasthan is the second state after Andhra to switch over to this technology . At the recent 'Jawab Do dharna' in Jaipur, old women vented their anger against the new machines.

Daily wagers complained they spend days at ration outlets trying to squeeze out supplies from the 'impossible machines'. The long, fruitless wait forces them to skip work and end up losing wages. Hard manual labour flattens fingerprint patterns on the palm.Chances of the machines detecting them are really dim.

These patterns also fade with age. "I've never been a manual labourer, but at 70 the lines on my fingers are faint and the device never works with me too," says Aruna Roy of MKSS.

Vaishali Devi of Kishangarh tehsil, Ajmer, complains she's been deprived of ration and pension for over three months. She was at the Jawab Do dharna in Jaipur for 20 days. With her was fellow villager Vanni Bai. For three months, she hasn't been able to collect her quota of supplies.

Shishir Purohit, a researcher who's travelled through the state's 33 districts, says: "On an average, only 20 people take home rations each day. Poor internet connectivity slows the system. Often, the line snaps. Hundreds keep making attempt after attempt without any assurance that they'll take home rations."

The Aadhaar Bill became law on March 16. Well before that, by January this year, distribution of ration under the Food Security Act was made compulsory through Aadhaar in Rajasthan. "The rules of the Act have not been notified," says Dey .

Rajasthan was among the first states to implement the Food Security Act in 2013.Three years later, dealers are yet to receive lists of eligible households. Dealers find their hands tied, for now they're not allowed to use the manual system to distribute grain. "The administration allows dealers leeway to use the manual system only towards the end of the month. By then, the tired daily wager has most likely given up, and his grains could well be given out to someone else," says Dey.

The built-in redress mechanism is totally out of sync with ground reality . In principle, the Unique Identity Authority of India, implementing agency for Aadhaar can issue a one-time password to the ration seeker's mobile phone if the system fails. Many using the system can't afford mobile phones; some don't remember the number registered on their Aadhaar.

10031 - RATION CARD SYSTEM SET TO GET SMART - Pune Mirror

RATION CARD SYSTEM SET TO GET SMART

By Varsha Torgalkar, Pune Mirror | May 24, 2016, 02.30 AM IST

State govt to introduce biometric authentication project with smartcards, computerise all transactions made

To curb the number of bogus ration cards and stop leakage of foodgrains, the state government is launching a biometric- based authentication system consisting of computerised cards and Point of Sales (PoS) devices at shops for authentication.

Mahesh Pathak, secretary, food, civil supplies and consumer protection department, said, "The initiative is part of the end-to-end computerisation of the public distribution system (PDS), as per the Union government's order. The project will be implemented in two phases. Phase I consists of control over vehicles carrying foodgrain to godowns, computerisation of all PDS shops and to provide computerised ration cards to beneficiaries. Phase II aims to computerise all transactions made in the PDS. The project will cost a total of Rs 69.73 crore, half of which will be from the central government."

Pathak added, "As part of the first phase, barcoded computerised ration cards (much like smartcards) will be issued in the name of the oldest lady in the family. This is in keeping with the National Food Security Act, 2013, which sought to promote women empowerment. If there is no such woman, card will be issued to the oldest man. However, the names of all family members will be included and the cards will be linked to their Aadhaar card numbers. The state will compile a list of the beneficiaries' name, Aadhaar card numbers, bank account numbers and mobile numbers through private agencies in cities and by revenue departments in rural areas."

He assured, "PDS shops will be installed with PoS devices, through which beneficiaries will be identified by biometric information. Transactions will be carried out with computerised cards. But, people who do not have Aadhaar cards will not be excluded."

Pathak further said, "We have invited tenders for the work. Once these are awarded, all 51,000 ration shops across the state will come under the biometric system within four months." However, he did not divulge how much foodgrain is leaked in the process.

S B Shitole of Sangvi Grahak Bhadar Ration Card Shop said, "Currently, one person comes up with 7-8 ration cards and buys grain and kerosene. Thus, most of the foodgrain go into the market instead of beneficiaries' homes. With the biometric system implemented, the number of fraudulent cards will come down. People will not be able to use ration cards belonging to others."

Vikas Patil, an activist from Pimpri Chinchwad, said, "Though the National Food Security Act was implemented back in 2013, thousands of families struggle to get food through PDS shops as they do not have ration cards. The card requires election cards and other documents, which makes it difficult for many. This will not change till the government formulates a proper plan. Besides this, the government should also be prepared to crack down on any brokerage system that might come in."

█ We have invited tenders for the work. Once these are awarded, all 51,000 ration shops across the state will come under the biometric system within four months

- MAHESH PATHAK, SECRETARY, FOOD, CIVIL SUPPLIES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPARTMENT

9561 - Old maladies haunt ePoS in PDS - Hans India

Old maladies haunt ePoS in PDS

THE HANS INDIA |   Mar 14,2016 , 08:14 AM IST

Nellore: The much-hyped e-PoS (point of sale) system for preventing irregularities in public distribution system (PDS) has been a tough nut for officials to crack. The method aimed at preventing diversion of PDS commodities has failed to take off across the district and also has not yielded expected results wherever it was implemented.

The system has been a role model, which was pilot tested in Krishna district and was later implemented across the State, in a bid to save Rs 1,000 crore per annum to the exchequer that was being misappropriated by the dealers. The district administration started implementing the system a few days ago. The entire distribution process has to be fixed within three days but that wasn’t the case. 

While it was planned to complete 80 percent of distribution on the first day and finish the rest in the remaining two days, only 65 percent of the essential commodities were distributed during the first three days. There are huge stocks of materials that are yet to be dispersed and ration card holders are under dilemma whether they would be received this month’s ration.  

Iris and finger prints, play a key role in the system. Under the biometric authentication system, the quantum of essential commodities of each consumer is entitled to will be displayed. The consumer can draw the entire material at one go or in several spells and a slip will get generated on the quantum of essential commodities drawn, according to the procedure. 

It would help record all transactions electronically, which enables real time accounts of opening stock, daily sales and closing stock. In turn, this would facilitate monthly allotment of stocks to the dealers based on the stock position and also facilitate monitoring and detection of fraudulent transactions. 

Under the system, the beneficiaries are identified by Aadhaar and verified through iris and fingerprinting at the time of release of the goods. The objective of the programme is to ensure that only genuine cardholder, whose name is mentioned in the ration card can buy the subsidised commodities.

There are about 8.50 lakh ration cards in the district and essential commodities were being distributed through 1,879 fair price shops. After distribution of commodities that was kicked off in the month of March, around 35 per cent of cardholders, nearly 3.11 lakh are yet to receive the commodities. It is pitiable to note that commodities were only distributed to 45 per cent card holders in district head quarters.

Social activists blamed dealers and said that their negligence and unwillingness to follow new system was the reason for the failure of e-PoS. “Though the officials directed the dealers to open shops from 10 am to 5 pm, it was blatantly ignored by many dealers. They still followed old system,” said K Venkateswarlu, a social activist from Narayanareddypet in Nellore rural mandal.

Moreover, failure of servers due to limited access to internet, no-response from biometric system and others added fuel to the fire thus leading to incomplete distribution of commodities in a stipulated time. 

9330 - PDS all set to reap digital dividend - Financial Times

PDS all set to reap digital dividend

With almost all ration cards in the country digitised and 40% seeded with Aadhaar, several states have now installed electronic point of sale (ePOS) devices at their fair price shops (FPSs).

By: Sandip Das | February 8, 2016 1:35 AM

According to sources, Andhra Pradesh would save around R800 crore annually through steps like putting ePOS devices in its 28,000 odd public distribution system (PDS) outlets and seeding ration cards with Aadhaar numbers.

With almost all ration cards in the country digitised and 40% seeded with Aadhaar, several states have now installed electronic point of sale (ePOS) devices at their fair price shops (FPSs). The ePOS devices that track the sale of foodgrains to actual cardholders on a real-time basis would complement the efforts to cut pilferage, allowing significant savings in food subsidy, even as the implementation of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) to credit the subsidy to the bank accounts of the intended beneficiaries is still at an early stage.

Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have almost completed ePOS installations, while others like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are catching up. States with large poor populations like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha have, however, yet to make any headway in equipping their FPSs with ePOS devices.

According to sources, Andhra Pradesh would save around R800 crore annually through steps like putting ePOS devices in its 28,000 odd public distribution system (PDS) outlets and seeding ration cards with Aadhaar numbers.

The objective of ePOS, of course, is to ensure that only genuine cardholders or his or her family members whose names are mentioned in the ration card can buy the subsidised commodities. When the ration is taken, the ePOS device captures the buyer’s biometrics, which is verified online with the Aadhaar database. The device helps record all FPSs transactions electronically, which enables real-time accounts of opening stock, daily sales and closing stock. In turn, this would facilitate monthly allotment of stocks to the FPSs based on the stock position and also facilitate monitoring and detection of fraudulent transactions.

However, there is still a long way to go on this front as only 13% of the 5.3 lakh fair price shops (FPSS) in the country have installed ePOS devices so far.

The sources said the entire supply chain from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to mandal levels in Andhra Pradesh has been completely linked. Gujarat, which has also completed the installation of ePOS device at most of its 17,000 PDS outlets, is lagging in the seeding of digitised ration cards with Aadhaar.

Andhra Pradesh’s achievement assumes significance given that the Centre has been seeking the state’s cooperation in implementing the DBT scheme for kerosene and fertilisers. Though the roll-out of the National Food Security Act was deferred a couple of times, all states with the exception of Tamil Nadu would implement the mega food security legislation by April 2016.

First Published on February 8, 2016 1:32 am

9083 - Plan to link FP shops with anganwadi centres- The Hindu

VIJAYAWADA, November 20, 2015

Plan to link FP shops with anganwadi centres

• SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The district administration is planning to link fair price shops with anganwadi centres to supply provisions from December.

This would be followed by seeding of Aadhaar cards of respective workers and ayahs. Once the seeding is completed, the Anganwadi centres or ayahs would have to get their provisions from respective fair price shops like residents.

The project was explained to Civil Supplies Commissioner Jayalakshmi by Krishna Collector Babu A during a video conference here on Thursday.

Supply of provisions through EPOS has helped in controlling irregularities in fair price shops.

At present, the Anganwadi centres were being supplied rice through fair price shops and once the project takes off, supply of red gram and palm oil would also commence through fair price shops, he said.

The Anganwadi centres are getting red gram and palm oil through District Cooperative Marketing Society and super bazaars and from December onwards, rice, red gram, palm oil would be supplied through EPOS at fair price shops, according to a press release.

This will be followed by seeding of Aadhaar cards of respective workers and ayahs

8956 - An official Andhra survey shows why Modi government should stop pushing Aadhaar so doggedly - Scroll.In

An official Andhra survey shows why Modi government should stop pushing Aadhaar so doggedly

An audit of ration shops after the introduction of Aadhaar revealed that many genuine beneficiaries couldn’t collect food grain due to system glitches.

Scroll Staff  · Oct 15, 2015 · 05:30 pm

The Modi government’s insistence on the use of Aadhaar, India’s biometrics-based unique identification project, to weed out “ghosts, fakes, duplicates” from social welfare schemes is counterproductively excluding genuine beneficiaries from the programmes.

In Andhra Pradesh, an official audit conducted after ration shops adopted the Aadhaar system revealed that many genuine ration card holders couldn’t collect food grain due to fingerprint authentication failure and a mismatch of Aadhaar numbers. The audit was undertaken at five ration shops in three districts of Andhra Pradesh in May this year. At three of the stores, more than half the legitimate beneficiaries had to turn back without any ration.

The audit findings reveal the flaws in the Aadhaar project which the government obdurately maintains is essential to target subsidies for the deserving. Even though the Supreme Court, in August, ruled that enrolment for Aadhaar can’t be made mandatory for government benefits, the order was challenged by the Unique Identification Authority of India, the Reserve Bank of India and other regulatory bodies.

On October 8, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar refused to modify the August order. It referred the matter to a larger bench.

Biometrics fail beneficiaries

Amid this uncertainty, there’s evidence of Aadhaar’s ineffectiveness.

Earlier this year, the Andhra Pradesh government adopted the Aadhaar system and installed electronic point-of-sale machines at fair price shops, or ration shops, to verify beneficiaries’ fingerprints. To get ration, every ration card holder now has to provide valid Aadhaar numbers for all members of the household, and then authenticate her fingerprints on the scanner in the point-of-sale device. (The device is connected to the database of biometric information collected during Aadhaar enrolment.)

The Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Department started distributing ration through this process in May this year. That month, at 5,358 ration shops, 6.87 lakh ration card holders of the existing 31 lakh beneficiaries (or 22%) didn’t take ration. At 125 ration shops, the figure was higher at around 58% – 50,151 of the total 85,589 card holders didn’t collect their ration.

Faced with such a difference, the Society for Social Audit, Accountability and Transparency, a body set up by the Department of Rural Development to conduct social audits for government programmes, conducted a survey. It audited five ration shops in the districts of Anantapur, Prakasam, and Nellore, taking 20% of the “left over ration card holders” as the sample size.

The society found that in Cheemakurthi in Prakasam district, 69 of the surveyed 82 beneficiaries said their fingerprints didn’t match. In Allur in Nellore district, this problem was cited by 106 of 203 ration card holders. In Ongole in Prakasam district, 50 of 93 beneficiaries blamed the same problem.

Besides this, there were other failures. The survey discovered 35 beneficiaries from two slums who earlier used to get relatives to collect ration on their behalf because they worked in neighbouring villages. Under the new system, they missed out since it is mandatory for the beneficiary to be personally available to collect the ration.

In one instance, a ration dealer in Mudigubba allowed the beneficiaries to collect their rations manually without Aadhaar authentication, but in the system they showed up as beneficiaries who did not collect their rations. This opens the possibility of them being incorrectly getting counted as “fakes or duplicates”.

While the government wants to extend Aadhaar to a number of schemes and services, the findings in Andhra Pradesh show that the system requires more scrutiny before it can be termed as a fool-proof way of welfare delivery.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in

7700 - EPOS Method at 511 PDS Centres from April 1 - New Indian Express

EPOS Method at 511 PDS Centres from April 1

By Express News Service

Published: 30th March 2015 06:00 AM

VIJAYAWADA: For transparency and accountability in the public distribution system, the government will supply basic commodities at 511 public distribution centres in the district by implementing the EPOS (electronic point of sale) method from April 1 and extending it to the remaining 1,638 FP shops from May 1.

Speaking at an awareness programme held at Montessori women’s college here on Sunday, collector Babu A said that as part of the EPOS method, the dealers need to register the seven digit code given to them, dealer name, Aadhaar details along with the details of two nominees and their Aadhaar details through biometric method.

“This system will help address irregularities in the PDS. The electronic monitoring and digitisation of the chain-supply management would help in making the PDS more transparent. The dealers and route officers need to register the details of the stock received in the EPOS machine. As part of it, the customer IRIS will also be registered, to avoid fake customers,” Babu said.

The collector said that in the state, the Central government had decided to implement the EPOS method in 300 FP shops and soon they will be transformed into malls.

He warned the officials that stringent action will be taken against those who are involved in corrupt practices while distributing commodities to the beneficiaries.

Joint collector Gandham Chandrudu said that the EPOS machines need to be protected from children.