13660 - Mail Today Impact: Aadhaar woes over for Badarpur senior citizen - India Today

Mail Today Impact: Aadhaar woes over for Badarpur senior citizen

• Adila Matra
• New Delhi
• June 6, 2018
• UPDATED: June 6, 2018 08:26 IST
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HIGHLIGHTS

• 68-year-old Samiuddin was denied ration and pension due to Aadhaar card mismatch
• He didn't get his pension for seven months
• The authorities swung in action after Mail Today report

Mail Today had reported the story on April 8, 2018

Sixty-eight-year-old Samiuddin, a resident of Badarpur in south Delhi, was denied ration and old-age pension because his finger-prints did not match his Aadhaar card that was procured four years ago.

For seven months, Samiuddin had not received pension and the bank officers had told him it could either be a telephone number or fingerprint mismatch.

MAIL TODAY carried his story in the report titled 'Aadhaar: An Age Old Problem' on April 8, 2018. The Delhi Minorities Commission picked it up and issued notice to the Aadhaar Authority and the food and civil supplies department of the Delhi government. Samiuddin's problem has now been solved.

Said Zafarul-Islam Khan, Chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission, "We issued a notice to both the Aadhaar Authority (UIDAI) main office at Pragati Maidan and the food and civil supplies department. Aadhaar office sent a quick notice to release his pension immediately. Both pension and food supply departments have been asked to resume Samiuddin's benefits and accept any alternative identity proof in such cases."

Khan said they expedited the process because he was an elderly man with low income. He also added that the pension would reach Samiuddin's account monthly. "The ration would also resume. We will get in touch with Samiuddin to inform him of the same since the PDS officers sometimes forget to do that," Khan adds.

Khan says this will hopefully also solve the problem of thousands like him across the country who are facing difficulties to access welfare schemes due to mismatch of their fingerprints with that of their Aadhaar cards. "Any other minority victim of this mismatch may obtain an Aaadhar Authority order from the office Delhi Minorities Commission office in Vikas Bhawan," he added. "This order lets the victim use any other alternate ID to access various welfare schemes."

12937 - Now, ration card holders can buy grains from any PDS outlet in State- Nagpur Today

Now, ration card holders can buy grains from any PDS outlet in State

Nagpur/Mumbai: In a good news to millions of ration card holders, the Maharashtra Government has announced implementation of portability for ration cards system by which the PDS beneficiaries will be able to purchase their grain entitlement from any fair price shop across the state. This system, aimed at boosting food and nutrition security in the state, will be implemented this month onward.

The State Government will be implementing portability for ration cards. The new system will help the likes of migrant workers who are otherwise deprived of their share of subsidised grain, for not having access to their designated PDS outlets. It will also prevent grains from being diverted to black markets. “Due to the implementation of Aadhaar-enabled PDS (AePDS), the entire system will be upgraded and accessible on real-time basis,” said Mahesh Pathak, Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies.

Maharashtra has around 1.48 crore ration cards covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The Act covers up to 75 per cent of rural population and up to 50 per cent of urban population for receiving subsidised food grains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The state government is seeding Aadhaar numbers with PDS cards and has achieved over 86 per cent seeding so far. A senior official from the food and civil supplies department said, so far, 15 districts were live on the AePDS platform, namely, Ahmednagar, Akola, Aurangabad, Bhandara, Hingoli, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Wardha and Washim. AePDS was first enabled in the Nagpur Food Distribution Officer (FDO) area which has a high percentage (98percent) of Aadhaar seeding.

Pathak, however, admitted that beyond a point, AEPDS was “not very practical” as it would be difficult for fair price shops to estimate the demand. “The shops can adjust for a maximum of 5 to 10 per cent at the most. More people may come… It may create problems for these fair price shops. They will have to be in touch with each other,” he added.

NFSA families get 5kg allotment of subsidised rice and wheat per person. The Maharashtra government has equipped fair price shops with point of sale (POS) machines to ensure disbursement of grain through biometric authentication. Suresh Sawant of the Rationing Kruti Samiti said, “This will do away with the need for people to apply for fresh ration cards after they migrate and finish off the monopoly enjoyed by PDS shop owners in their areas,” said Sawant, adding it would prevent corruption.

Sawant, however, said while the use of Aadhaar-enabled verification would reduce identity frauds (ghost beneficiaries), several measures are needed to check quantity frauds (short delivery of grain to ration card holders). Estimates suggest that while Maharashtra distributes Rs 12,000 crore of subsidised grain annually to beneficiaries under the PDS, around Rs 2,000 crore worth grain is diverted to the open market.

Estimates suggest that while Maharashtra distributes Rs 12,000 crore of subsidised grain annually to beneficiaries under the PDS, around Rs 2,000 crore worth grain is diverted to the open market.

10570- Poor progress in even BJP-ruled states inexcusable - Financial Express

Poor progress in even BJP-ruled states inexcusable

A whopping 7 million people in Rajasthan, who bought their rations till as late as a few months ago, seem to have disappeared.

By: The Financial Express | Updated: October 31, 2016 7:01 AM

It had 4.53 crore ration cards which reduced to 3.86 crore once there was Aadhaar-seeding. It could have fallen further once 100% ePoS was achieved—with ePoS, at least one person in a family has to personally come to the ration shop to collect the ration—but those numbers are not known. (PTI)

A whopping 7 million people in Rajasthan, who bought their rations till as late as a few months ago, seem to have disappeared. With the state government installing electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices in all ration shops—so that those buying rations can be immediately authenticated against the Aadhaar database—these 7 million people, if they ever existed, probably felt they would be found using fake ration cards and so decided not to buy rations from fair price shops anymore. Andhra Pradesh, another state which has all its ration cards seeded with Aadhaar numbers and with 100% ePoS, had a similar experience.

It had 4.53 crore ration cards which reduced to 3.86 crore once there was Aadhaar-seeding. It could have fallen further once 100% ePoS was achieved—with ePoS, at least one person in a family has to personally come to the ration shop to collect the ration—but those numbers are not known. While similar numbers are probably being reported by other states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh which have 100% ePoS, the central government managed to knock off 3.5 crore people from the LPG list when a similar exercise was done.

While the benefits from this already run into tens of thousands of crore rupees every year, what is shocking is the poor progress of ePoS across the country. Just 29% of all ration cards are ePoS-enabled—why this should be so, given the obvious benefits in stopping theft, is not clear. Part of the reason could be political. Tiny Delhi, which has all of 2,269 ration shops has managed to install ePoS devices in a mere 34 shops—the reason for this can only be political.

But how do you explain a BJP state like Haryana—only 20 of its 9,462 rations shops are ePoS-enabled—making such little progress? It is not even a very large state in comparison with, say, a Maharashtra where a mere 93 of 51,596 shops have ePoS devices—but, given Maharashtra is BJP-ruled, surely prime minister Narendra Modi can give directions to the chief minister to ensure this is done quickly? When even BJP-ruled states are in no great hurry to implement ePoS, it is difficult to convince other laggards like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha—they have 0, 600 and 32 ePoS shops, respectively—to get their act together?

10454 - FOODLAW 2LAST - India Today

FOODLAW 2LAST

PTI

September 16, 2016 | UPDATED 16:55 IST

For instance in Madhya Pradesh, details about ration cards are visible on the portal but BPL category is also shown, while in most states the details are not updated in a proper format.

Urging the states to address gaps for achieving full computerisation of PDS, Paswan said 24.28 crore ration cards have been digitised in the country, of which only 65 per cent are seeded with Aadhaar numbers.

No initiative has been taken on Aadhaar seeding in Bihar, Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, he noted.

In case of online foodgrains allocation, the minister said though 28 states/UTs have implemented, there are some issues like no clear bifurcation of NFSA and state specific schemes.

In automation of supply-chain management, Paswan said 15 states/UTs are yet to implement but 18 States/UTs that are implementing have not done it properly.

SMS registration facility is not available for getting alerts for events like stock released from state godowns, stock delivery at fair price shops etc. Monthly summary report is not available for SMSs sent to beneficiary, he added.

On automation of fair price shops (FPSs), the minister said that only 1.42 lakh shops have installed ePoS machines out of 5.28 lakh in 20 states/UTs. About 13 states/UTs such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab and West Bengal -- have not made much progress in last one year, he said.

The minister also asked states to ensure redressal mechanism is put in place to address NFSA related grievances.

The government provides Rs 1.30 lakh crore food subsidy. At present, 71 crore beneficiaries are covered under the NFSA against the target of 85 crores, he added. PTI LUX BAL

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.

9674 - From April 1, ration cards will not be valid proof for passport application - Indian Express

From April 1, ration cards will not be valid proof for passport application

While state govt wants to make ration card Aadhaar-linked, the Centre has said that ration card will no longer be considered as address proof.

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published:March 28, 2016 12:30 am - See more at: 

WHILE THE state government is making all efforts to link the ration card with Aadhaar cards, the document, however, will no longer be accepted as a proof of identity and address along with passport application. The central government has issued a notice to this effect, which the Regional Passport Office said, would come into effect from April 1.

The External Affairs Ministry has directed all passport branches to comply with the orders. Earlier, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution had on December 20 last year discontinued accepting ration card as proof of identity and residence. The ministry had come across cases where the details on the card had been tampered with.

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According to the passport officials, the ration card cannot verify the authenticity of an applicant, as people can make changes to it easily. “When they migrate, they alter the details to be able to misuse the card for various purposes,” said officials from the passport office.

All passports offices have to now make the necessary changes on their portals, run a ticker informing the public that ration card is no longer a valid proof of identity or address.

Besides the ration card, the other valid proof of address are water bill, Aadhaar card, income-tax assessment order, proof of gas connection, registered rent agreement, photo passbook of active bank account, electricity bill, and the passport copy of spouse.

Regional passport officer Atul Gotsurve said,” Presently, along with the ration card, we were asking for another address proof that made it almost negligent. However, with the present order from the government, we will make it mandatory. “It is a good move and we would be implementing it from April 1,’’ said Gotsurve.

Meanwhile, Pune district is all set to complete its target of linking ration cards with Aadhaar cards. The district which has 16 lakh ration cards has nearly 52 lakh beneficiaries. The department has covered 65 per cent of them but with another 18 lakh beneficiaries to be covered, the administration is set to carry out the exercise in three categories-the total number of Aadhaar cards collected for the exercise and yet to be seeded with ration cards, the number of Aadhaar cards yet to be collected and the number of beneficiaries who are not alive or have shifted.

The entire effort to link ration cards with Aadhaar cards is to weed out bogus beneficiaries. Earlier, the state was given time till December 31 last year to digitise date on food procurement system, godowns, ration cards, supply chain and open transparency portals inorder to seed Aadhaar card data. The new deadline now is March 2016. The Centre is aiming big on Aadhaar-based biometric authentication which it plans to roll out at all fair price shops across the country by year-end.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/from-april-1-ration-cards-will-not-be-valid-proof-for-passport-application/#sthash.qX7Nx1VQ.dpuf

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/from-april-1-ration-cards-will-not-be-valid-proof-for-passport-application/#sthash.qX7Nx1VQ.dpuf

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/from-april-1-ration-cards-will-not-be-valid-proof-for-passport-application/#sthash.qX7Nx1VQ.dpuf

9456 - Nearly 1.25-1.5 lakh ration cards may get cancelled: Rao - Indian Express

Nearly 1.25-1.5 lakh ration cards may get cancelled: Rao

The entire effort to link ration cards with Aadhaar cards is to weed out bogus beneficiaries.

  

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published:March 7, 2016 4:44 am

With only 30 lakh Aadhaar cards seeded with ration cards and the deadline of March 31 just round the corner, the district administration is expected to cancel 1.25 to 1.5 lakh ration cards listed in the category “dead or shifted beneficiaries”.

The district with 16 lakh ration cards has nearly 51 lakh beneficiaries. The department has covered 60 per cent of them but with another 21 lakh beneficiaries to be covered, the administration is set to carry out the exercise in three categories—the total number of Aadhaar cards collected for the exercise and yet to be seeded with ration cards, the number of Aadhaar cards yet to be collected and the number of beneficiaries who are not alive or have shifted. A meeting convened under the District Collector on Sunday to assess the status of seeding of ration card has seen that there are 21 lakh ration cards to be completed and the administration is set to link 10 lakh ration cards. “In the next 15 days, we should cover 5-6 lakh and those whose names have figured in dead or shifted beneficiaries, may face cancellation of ration cards,” said District Collector Saurabh Rao. However, he added that in case of cancellation, the person can enroll again if he wishes to do so. The administration has asked the fair price shopkeepers to get the forms filled up with the Aadhaar numbers.

   The entire effort to link ration cards with Aadhaar cards is to weed out bogus beneficiaries. Earlier, the state was given time till December 31 last year to digitise date on food procurement system, godowns, ration cards, supply chain and open transparency portals inorder to seed Aadhaar card data. The new deadline now is March 2016. The centre is aiming big on Aadhaar-based biometric authentication which it plans to roll out at all fair price shops across the country by year-end.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/nearly-1-25-1-5-lakh-ration-cards-may-get-cancelled-rao/#sthash.BOv0CsZO.dpuf

9362 - 'State must ensure poor get NFSA benefits' - The Statesman

'State must ensure poor get NFSA benefits'

SNS

| Bhubaneswar | 13 February, 2016

Ram Vilas Paswan (PIB)

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said the NFSA will be implemented by the remaining six states in April, ration cards will be linked to Aadhar cards and so on, but he went on to concede that there were several complaints of irregularities in implementation and the centre can do very little about these things. 

It is up to the state government to check corruption and ensure that the poor get the benefit as the objective of the NFSA is to check bogus cards and beneficiaries and plug loopholes in distribution. 

Implicitly taking a dig at the state government, he said, “They claim to provide rice free of cost or at Rs.1 per kg. The message given is that the state government is doing so whereas the fact is that the central subsidy is Rs.27 per kg and the state subsidy is barely Rs.2 or Rs.1 per kg. 

“In a federal structure, the centre cannot intervene on matters pertaining to digitised ration cards being issued to ineligible people, of the Food Commission, vigilance committees etc not being formed etc. But we will certainly forward all such complaints to the state government,” he said. 

Asked what action would be taken if the six states which are yet to implement the NFSA are unable to meet the April deadline, Paswan said the matter is pending disposal of the apex court. 

What can the centre to at the most it can stop supply of food grains, but then the people will suffer, he observed while insisting that the role of the centre ends at the FCI godown. 

It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure proper distribution to genuine beneficiaries, he added. 

Highlighting the achievements of his ministry, he said, “99.9 per cent of ration cards ( with the exception of two districts in Himachal Pradesh) have been digitized. Over 42 per cent of the ration cards have been even linked with Aadhaar cards and point of sale devices to keep electronic record of allocation to the beneficiary have been installed in over 77,000 ration shops.”

He said during the ongoing khareef season huge paddy procurement of 261.37 lakh tone has been procured till Thursday. Direct Cash Transfer of food subsidy to beneficiaries has been launched in Chandigarh and Puducherry on an experimental basis since September last year, he noted. 

He said steps to create a 1.5 lakh metric tonne buffer stock of pulses has been planned and FCI has started procurement operations. 

The drop in international prices of imported oils was affecting prices of domestically produced edible oils, he said adding that the import duty on such items had been increased to protect the farmer. 

Reform measures have been introduced in FCI and it has been asked to construct modern silos for storage of 100 lakh MT capacity at different locations on PPP mode. 

A time bound construction plan has been put in place, stated Paswan. 

Despite the deficit monsoon over the last two years, there is more than adequate foodgrain stock, he said.

Read more at http://www.thestatesman.com/news/odisha/-state-must-ensure-poor-get-nfsa-benefits/123216.html#LHOpIXQAKIsTF0Q3.99

9352 - India now has 100% digitised ration cards: Paswan - Business Standard

India now has 100% digitised ration cards: Paswan

42% of them are linked to Aadhaar cards

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi 

February 12, 2016 

For the first time ever, all the ration cards in India are digitised, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.

Addressing a meeting in Bhubaneswar today, Paswan said that 42% of the digitised ration cards are linked to Aadhaar cards.

In total, around 77,000 ration shops across the country have automatic point of sale devices installed, he said, all of which will help in checking leakage and pilferage of food grains distributed through public distribution system.

9306 - Online updation of ration cards and biometric cards soon: Girish Bapat - Indian Express

Online updation of ration cards and biometric cards soon: Girish Bapat

Bapat said that once Aadhaar seeding is done, the immediate measure would be to ensure a biometric system for ration card holders in the next few months.

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published:February 1, 2016 11:50 pm

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat is keen to have online updation of ration cards and seeding with Aadhaar cards to ensure transparency in the system and roll out biometric ration cards soon.

“Online updation of ration card holders would give us the correct picture and Aadhaar seeding would definitely ensure better transparency. We will ensure that the updation is completed at the earliest and biometric ration cards are rolled out soon,’’ Bapat said on his department’s measures to ensure better transparency in the system and seal pilferages. The biometric system will save about 30 per cent foodgrains under PDS currently benefitting undeserving and bogus ration card holders, said the minister.

Bapat said that once Aadhaar seeding is done, the immediate measure would be to ensure a biometric system for ration card holders in the next few months. The minister said that modernisation in PDS would bring transparency and avoid duplication and computerisation of ration cards will automatically scrap bogus cards.

Recently, at a workshop for divisional commissioners and collectors, Bapat had put up a request to the CM that they need “active officers” to curb malpractices. He had noted that in almost all the PDS offices of district collectors, there were officers who were due for retirement, and they needed much active officers.Bapat said that for Aadhaar card linking, some temporary officers have been appointed, and they needed help from the collectors to ensure better managed godowns. “We need more and well constructed godowns and land for such spaces so that the material can be stored safely,” he said.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/online-updation-of-ration-cards-and-biometric-cards-soon-girish-bapat/#sthash.ftd4B0be.dpuf

9181 - Rain Relief of Rs 4000 for All Ration Card Holders in UT - Indian Express

Rain Relief of Rs 4000 for All Ration Card Holders in UT

By Express News Service

Published: 17th December 2015 03:59 AM

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry government began crediting the rain relief assistance of Rs 4,000 in the bank accounts of affected families in Puducherry and Karaikal region of the Union Territory affected by the recent floods from Wednesday. The process is set to be completed by Friday. those ration card holders

As per the announcement made by  Chief Minister N Rangasamy, the first instance Rs 97,13,92,000 has been released to the State Bank of India (SBI) for making payments to 2,42,848 ration card holders, who have already linked their Aadhaar to their ration cards and bank accounts, said a release from the Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs P Priyatarshny.

The beneficiaries can check the particulars in the website of the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (http ://dcsca.puducherry.gov.in). By entering the ration card number, the beneficiary can check the status of the receipt of the assistance. The card holders who have not submitted their Aadhaar and bank account details earlier, will have to approach the Civil supplies department along with required copy of documents for making necessary entries in this regard to avail the rain relief assistance.

Meanwhile, the distribution of free mixies and grinders to all ration card holders would be taken up constituency-wise for which the administration will set up four to five centres in each constituency, said the CM.

CM added that the Puducherry administration has taken a decision to provide an assistance of Rs 4000 to the construction workers.

9152 - C’GARH AMONG SIX STATES FOUND WITH EXCESS RATION CARDS - Daily Pioneer

C’GARH AMONG SIX STATES FOUND WITH EXCESS RATION CARDS

Wednesday, 09 December 2015 | Staff Reporter | Raipur | in Raipur

Chhattisgarh is among six States in the country where excess ration cards were distributed as per an evaluation study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the Central Government has informed.

The final report of the study on functioning of ‘Targetted Public Distribution System’ (TPDS) in six selected states which was conducted in March 2014, was accepted in the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in November 2015, it stated.

Based on 2011 census and the family size estimates projected over 2015, the study has estimated the number of excess ration cards made in the six target States with the number of excess cards as follows—Bihar (33.92 lakh), Chhattisgarh (10.84 lakh), Karnataka ( 2.15 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (98.39 lakh), West Bengal (19.39 lakh) and Assam (not specified).

In Chhattisgarh, a total of 94,209 bogus/ineligible rations cards were deleted by the State Government during the last three years including the current year, it stated.

In terms of the PDS (Control) Order, 2001, dated August 31, 2001, the states and Union territories are to review the lists of BPL and AAY families every year for the purpose of deletion of ineligible families and inclusion of eligible families. The exercise of deletion of bogus/ineligible cards and inclusion of eligible families is a continuous process and State Governments are to periodically carry out the same.

The TPDS (Control) Order, 2015 notified on March 20, 2015 also calls for all the necessary action to be taken by states and Union Territories for review of list of beneficiaries and deletion of bogus /ineligible ration cards.

To curb leakages further, under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) inter alia, states and Union Territories have been asked to either do cash transfer of food subsidy under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) or install electronic Point of Sale Device (ePoS) at the Fair Price Shops  (FPSs).

Notably, Chhattisgarh has achieved 100 per cent digitisation of the Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries database.

There are 23 other States in the country which have also achieved 100 per cent digitisation of the PDS database, officials stated.

Moreover, the Chhattisgarh Government is now also preparing a plan to use Aadhaar cards to identify Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries.

It has prepared a comprehensive action plan for ensuring total transparency in the preparation of ration cards besides evolving a mechanism for error-free identity of Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries.

Under the action plan, the mobile, bank account and Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries are being collected.

Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Minister Punnulal Mohle had stated earlier that the State Government has also made a provision of `4,700 crore for implementation of ‘Chief Minister Food and Nutrition Security scheme’ in the State Budget 2015-16.

The Government had made a provision of `1.75 crore in the form of extension of ‘Core PDS’ for its ‘Meri Marzi Scheme.’

Chhattisgarh’s Public Distribution System (PDS) model has gram panchayats, co-operative societies and women’s self-help groups (SHGs) operating the fair price shops, officials stated.

About 90 per cent of the masses are covered under Food and Nutrition Security Act was implemented in 2013, officials stated.

Chhattisgarh’s PDS under Antyodaya and Priority families schemes provides 35 kg foodgrains at `1 per kilogram. Since June 2014, single member category ration card-holders under destitute segment  are provided 10 kg foodgrains free of cost.

Notably, Chhattisgarh State Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister Punnulal Mohle had called upon the Central Government to computerise the ration shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS) while addressing the State Food Ministers’ National Conference in New Delhi on July 7 this year.

He had urged the Central Government to provide two-kg ‘Daal’ (pulses) at `10 per kg to the Antyodaya and Priority and below poverty card-holders under the National Food Security Act .

Union Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan and Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh were also present at the meeting.

Mohle said that the Central Government provided subsidised ‘Daal’ underthe Public Distribution System till 2012 and later it was stopped.

9065 - ‘Only nine out of 52 lakh holders linked Aadhaar to ration cards - Indian Express

‘Only nine out of 52 lakh holders linked Aadhaar to ration cards’

The government had put the proposal to link ration cards with Aadhaar numbers so as to enhance the Public Distribution.

 By: Express News Service | Pune | Published:November 16, 2015 12:26 am

With the state government setting a deadline of November 30 for linking up Aadhaar cards with ration cards, the initiative has received a poor response from the ration card holders.

With the data entry of the ration cards being carried out, the department has stated that of the 52 lakh population of ration card holders, only nine lakh has had Aadhaar linkage while entry of 27 lakh names have been carried out by the officials.

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• After voter IDs, state govt set to link ration cards to Aadhaar for transparency
• Ration cards to get Aadhaar link in district to find right beneficiaries
• Govt plans to ‘link’ ration cards with Aadhaar
• Linking to banks continues as no order yet from Centre,says district collector
• Himachal pins hope on UID to weed out ‘extra’ population
• No fresh data on bogus ration cards since 2011
• After voter IDs, state govt set to link ration cards to Aadhaar for transparency
• Ration cards to get Aadhaar link in district to find right beneficiaries
• Govt plans to ‘link’ ration cards with Aadhaar
• Linking to banks continues as no order yet from Centre,says district collector
• Himachal pins hope on UID to weed out ‘extra’ population

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The government had put the proposal to link ration cards with Aadhaar numbers so as to enhance the Public Distribution. Officials stated the linkage would ensure that the benefits provided by the government would reach the beneficiaries and processes would remain transparent.

With the food security scheme being a prime focus, the linkage was suggested to close the loopholes in the distribution system. “We have to urge people to go to the fair price shop and link their ration cards with the Aadhaar card numbers,” said an official.

Two years ago, the drive to weed out bogus ration cards was carried out which required the individual to fill up the form and hand it over to the fair price shop giving details of the ration cards. However, the linkage will improve the transfer of subsidies, stated the officials.

At present, the number of people below poverty line in the state is at least seven crore, while 1.8 crore was registered as Above Poverty Line beneficiaries while a total 2.32 crore ration cards have been digitised with the state administration.

The initiative is to link ration cards to the Aadhaar card numbers and bank accounts which will be linked to the National Payment Corporation to transfer the subsidy amount.

Once the data is uploaded, the government can disburse the subsidy directly into the bank account bypassing the existing system.

8696 - Dist ranked second in Aadhaar-ration card linking - TNN

Dist ranked second in Aadhaar-ration card linking

Nikhil Deshmukh,TNN | Sep 15, 2015, 12.33 PM IST

KOLHAPUR: The district has recorded the second-most number of Aadhaar cards to be linked with the ration card holders in the state after Nagpur. Kolhapur has linked 10,98,886 Aadhaar numbers with the ration cards, which will entitle them to the direct cash transfer.

District supply officer Vivek Agawane told TOI, "There are 26,26,653 beneficiaries of National Food Security Act-2013 in Kolhapur. Out of it, 11,64,597 have Aadhaar card so far. Many of them have not yet submitted their Aadhaar card numbers with the district administration, assuming that only head of the family's Aadhaar number has to be linked with the NFSA beneficiaries. We are sensitizing people about it but it will take some time to collect and link all the Aadhaar card numbers of beneficiaries."

The ration card is allocated to an undivided family considering it as one unit, food grain allocation is based on the dependent members. The Aadhaar card system introduced some years back is aimed at issuing a unique identity number to every individual. The effort to link Aadhaar with ration cards is aimed at curbing the misuse for extra purchase of food grains than allocation. The food grains are heavily subsidized; hence the government wants to avoid any misuse and curb the subsidy cost, Agawane said.

Officials said that about 44.34% of the total district population has Aadhaar card numbers. At the state level, Nagpur district has 20,87,651 households with 25,38,512 beneficiaries of the food security act. Of these beneficiaries, 12,74,792 Aadhaar card holders have linked their ration card with the unique identity number. Nagpur district has reported 50.22% linking of the total population in the district.

Sources in the supply department said, "The Supreme Court verdict last month has disrupted the linking drive. The SC asked the government not to force people to link their voter ID with Aadhaar numbers; which also affected the on-going procedure of linking ration cards with Aadhaar numbers as some local activists objected it."

8292 - No fresh data on bogus ration cards since 2011 - Indian Express

No fresh data on bogus ration cards since 2011

RTI reply shows no drive in four years to update the list despite plans to link ration cards with Aadhaar

- See more at: 

The data provided by the department states there are 11.86 lakh ‘ineligible’ ration cards in the state. Even as the state government is planning to link ration cards with Aadhaar cards to plug leakages in the public distribution system, its food and civil supplies department says it does not have any fresh data on “ineligible” ration cards since the last drive to detect such cards was carried out in 2011, according to reply to an RTI query filed by The Indian Express. The data provided by the department states there are 11.86 lakh “ineligible” ration cards in the state. In Pune district alone, there are 2.81 lakh such cards. Of these, 45,653 are in the rural areas and 2,36,172 in the city. The figure of 2.81 lakh ineligible ration cards in Pune district is the highest in the state, followed by Raigad (1.3 lakh) and Nagpur (77,022). The total number of ration cards in the state a little more than 2 crore. “We are yet to conduct drive and collate data on ineligible cards for all districts in the state. 

We do not have an updated data since 2011. We are slowly carrying out the process,” an official from the department said.

 According to the RTI (Right to Information) reply given by the department, of the 11.86 lakh ineligible ration cards in the state, 1.72 lakh are the yellow ration cards, which are meant for families Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya scheme. One lakh of them are saffron ration cards, 9,774 under the Annapoorna category and 2,715 cards are white ration cards. 

Recently, when Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat was asked about such data, he too had said that the department was yet to prepare the same. In 2013, the then minister Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anil Deshmukh had stated in the Legislative Assembly that there were 54,06,881 “ineligible” ration cards in the state and promised bar-coded ration cards to weed out bogus cards. However, after two years, there is no trace of such biometric ration cards. The Maharashtra government plans to link ration cards with Aadhaar data with an aim to weed out bogus beneficiaries and curb pilferage in the public distribution system. Officials say that as an incentive, the food and civil supplies department has offered fair price shop owners Rs 100 per enrolment of a ration card holder for Aadhar card. 

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/no-fresh-data-on-bogus-ration-cards-since-2011/#sthash.6qad0RaN.dpuf

8264 - Aadhaar-ration card linking in district stands at dismal 4% - TNN

Aadhaar-ration card linking in district stands at dismal 4%

Nikhil Deshmukh, TNN | Jul 11, 2015, 01.49AM IST

KOLHAPUR: The enrolment for Aadhaar cards in Kolhapur district is as high as 94% of the total population of 38,76,001. However, only 4% Aadhaar card holders are linked with their respective ration card data in the state's online system. The average figure in the state for Aadhaar linking is 5.48% of the total population so far.

The data was shared by district supply officer Vivek Agawane.

He said that Kolhapur has a member count of 34,04,357 for Aadhaar card, of which only 1,63,763 have been linked with ration cards so far. "This translates to 4.81%. We hope to achieve a major rise in data linking because the new facility in the district collector's office will have 150 computers, where data feeders will work in two shifts," he said.

"The Union government plans to directly deposit the subsidy amount into the bank accounts of all beneficiaries. Hence, ration card details are being uploaded so that the exact information of beneficiaries in every village is available online. By linking Aadhaar card with the ration card, fake names will also be eliminated automatically. However, the biggest challenge in the entire exercise is the slow generation of Aadhaar cards and its distribution among people," he said.

"There are around 60 machines in the district allotted for issuing the Aadhaar card, however, the speed is slow and the demand is high. Every year, thousands of youngsters come to get their Aadhar cards. The machinery is therefore necessary," Agawane said.

Compared to Kolhpaur, Pune has an Aadhaar linking of 3.4% of its population. Aurangabad has 5.38% and Nagpur with 12.12%.

An official from the food distribution department said, "Ration card data includes details of family members followed by their age and income level. This data is linked with the bank account number of the head of the family. Once the data is linked with bank account, it will be connected with the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), which holds the national-level server for cash transfer. The NPCI has strict measures for uploading data, and so the percentage is very low."

While the ration card holders' are lagging behind, LPG cylinder consumers have linked their aadhar numbers with their respective bank accounts for availing benefits of cash transfer. In the Kolhapur district, there are 7,38,576 LPG consumers, of which 4,06,230 customers have completed aadhar seeding with LPG connection. However, only 3,07,435 customers have linked their aadhar numbers with their respective bank accounts. Now, the process of linking of aadhar card, bank account and LGP registration numbers is going on, which will start the transfer of cash to the LPG customers. It will take at least two more months for linking of all LPG customers with aadhar and their bank account numbers for speedy disbursement of subsidy.

8129 - ‘Ration card is sufficient proof of income’ - The Hindu

VISAKHAPATNAM, June 10, 2015

‘Ration card is sufficient proof of income’

• SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The State government recently issued a GO making ration card sufficient as proof of income, and income certificate need not be submitted while applying for scholarship and admission into welfare hostels.

The validity period of income certificate was also extended to four years, Joint Collector J. Nivas said on Tuesday.

ePass successful

Distribution of ration material through Fair Price shops in the district through ePass was a success as 90 per cent of material in rural areas and 69 per cent in urban area has been disbursed, Mr. Nivas said. A ration card holder can draw his or her monthly quota from any ration shop under the ePass method.

Ration cards taken for other purposes and problem with Aadhaar cards were the reasons for the ePass distribution not being done 100 per cent.

To overcome the problem with Aadhaar card, seeding correction centres were set up in the Assistant Supply Officer’s offices. It was also noticed that same UID number was given for four to five ration cards and there were 20,000 to 30,000 such ration cards in the district and supply of ration to such cards was stopped, he said.

7997 - Many go without ration in Agency due to mistake in Aadhaar seeding - The Hindu

VISAKHAPATNAM, May 19, 2015

Updated: May 19, 2015 06:09 IST

Many go without ration in Agency due to mistake in Aadhaar seeding

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of some villages in Chintapalli and G. Madugula taking out a silent march to Paderu on Monday seeking restoration of their names in the lists of ration cards.

Nearly 300 families of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in some villages of Chintapalli and G. Madugula have not been receiving their monthly ration from DR Depots since April following a mistake committed while seeding their ration card with the Aadhaar card.

The A. P. Vyavasaya Vrittidarula Union (APVVU) said that 140 card-holders in Annavaram panchayat and 36 in A. Sanivaram panchayat of Chintapalli mandal and 51 in Gaduthuru, 46 in Korapalli, and 26 in Solabam panchayats of G. Madugula mandal did not get ration during April and May, its general secretary P.S. Ajay Kumar said.

The card-holders, under the banner of APVVU and Rythu Swarajya Vedika, went in a silent march to the ITDA and submitted a memorandum seeking release of ration without delay.

The PVTGs also wanted that the Forest Rights Act be implemented and Forest Rights Committee formed for each Gram Sabha under the PESA Act.

Division convenor and district convenor of APVVU Seedari Srinu and G. Sreenu and Vanthala Raju of Rythu Swarajya Vedika organised the programme.

District officials here in the past said that the problem occurred while the Aadhaar forms were being filled. The correction has to be made by the Aadhaar authorities, it is learnt.

7749 - After voter IDs, state govt set to link ration cards to Aadhaar for transparency - Indian Express

After voter IDs, state govt set to link ration cards to Aadhaar for transparency

Last month, the state cabinet gave a green signal to redesign the public distribution system, clearing the process of biometric system for ration cards.

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Updated: April 10, 2015 3:42 am

With several services, including voter identity cards, being linked to Aadhaar, the latest to join the list is ration cards.

The state government’s new directive to ensure a transparent and foolproof system of barcoded ration cards linked to Aadhaar cards is a step initiated to redesign the public distribution system. With nearly 18 lakh ration card holders in the district, around 2,800 fair price shops will ready themselves for this system, which aims to weed out bogus PDS beneficiaries.

“This is a special initiative to weed out bogus ration card holders. We will collate information of all card holders with the help of fair price shops and finally the system will be uploaded and then checked before the barcode is issued,’’ said District Supply Officer Jyoti Kadam. For Pune, the work has been initiated and the deadline for completion of work is May 31.

RELATED

• Ration Cards To Get Aadhaar Link In District To Find Right Beneficiaries
• Bardcoded Smart Cards To Replace Ration Cards Soon
• Drive To Check All Ration Cards In District

Last month, the state cabinet gave a green signal to redesign the public distribution system, clearing the process of biometric system for ration cards. The department will have to collect Aadhaar details, bank account details and cellphone numbers of all the members of the family, which will enable any family member to buy the ration using the card.

“This is a part of the Food Security Act to ensure a transparent system. Barcoding will eradicate bogus ration cards and bring transparency. For helping us collect data, fair price shops will get an incentive of Rs 5 per card,” said Kadam.

While the focus is on yellow and saffron ration cards, the district administration has urged even the white ration card holders to submit their details to their respective fair price shops so that all data can be linked. This is as per the directive of the union government asking the state to submit information on various types of ration card holders, their Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts which will be interlinked to the National Payment Corporation of India’s portal to transfer the subsidy amount. Once the data is uploaded, the government can disburse the subsidy directly into bank accounts bypassing the existing system.

While the biometric system was introduced by the previous government on a pilot basis, it needed more time. Now, getting the fair price shops directly involved with a subsidy can help speed up the process. “Every shop owner has to collect data and submit it to the respective supply officer which will be further forwarded to the government and finally after confirmation the biometric card will be issued,’’ said administration officials.

Working towards women empowerment, the GR mentions the senior most woman’s name on the card as head of the family and other members as dependent on her. The officials maintain that this will ensure that foodgrain will be distributed to women only as the ration card will have their photograph and a barcode which 

7738 - Aadhar card not required for ration cards: HC -TNN

Aadhar card not required for ration cards: HC

Rajesh Kumar Pandey,TNN | Apr 7, 2015, 03.13 PM IST

ALLAHABAD: The state government on Monday submitted before the Allahabad High Court that there is no compulsory requirement of Aadhar card or its registration number for submitting forms for the preparation of ration cards in the state.

Recording the statement of the state government, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Pawan Tiwari of Bagpat district. 

Earlier, at one stage this court had directed the Principal Secretary (Food and Civil Supply) Lucknow to explain as to how despite recent direction of the Supreme Court for not making Aadhar card compulsory everywhere, the food and civil supply department of Uttar Pradesh was insisting for production of Aadhar card or its registration number for the purposes of issuance of ration cards. 

In pursuance of the direction of the court, state counsel Rama Nand Pandey on Monday produced before the court an order passed by the commissioner, food and civil supply department dated March 26, 2015 wherein all district magistrates and district supply officers were directed not to compel any applicant for submission of Aadhar card or its registration number under the National Food Security Act-2013 for preparation of ration cards. 

In the PIL, the petitioner had contended that the district supply officer of Baghpat, despite the order of Supreme Court, had been insisting on the production of Aadhar card and without which the applications for the grant of ration cards were not being processed.