eGov June 2019: Food Issue

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MAGAZINE It compiles ICT-related advancements being introduced, exercised by various government organisations via eGovernance module.

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Dealing with various key developments and policy-related decisions that define Indian governance style at large, this section throws light on the most important aspects.

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This segment narrates the discussions and deliberations of participants at the occasional conferences held nationally or internationally.

CASE STUDIES It deals with in-depth detail of various projects being implemented in any part of the country, worth inspiring others in providing solutions.

Towards Making PDS More Accountable, Transparent and Responsive Using Data Analytics The State of Rajasthan is doing exemplary work in making available food and nutritional security to 4.46 crore eligible individual beneficiaries as per the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013. This is being achieved through automation of the public distribution in keeping with the tripartite objectives of the SDG goals, Government of India directions aligned to NFSA Act and developmental and welfare priorities of the State Government of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan is striking a balance between rights and grievances of the consumers on one end and the responsibilities of the Fair Price Dealers (FPS) towards consumers and their expectations from the system.

The State is also actively implementing the other provisions of National Food Security Act relating to- conduct of social audit, formation of four-tier vigilance committees, establishment of a State Food Commission and office of DGRO for redressing PDS related grievances.

However, it is in the effective use of information technology and data analytics that the State has made remarkable progress, leveraging IT to plug loopholes in deliver systems, to figure out what, where and when to monitor, and using learnings from the same to devise a robust and institutionalised framework of policy guidelines for making the PDS system more accountable, transparent and responsive to both the needs of consumers and demands of time.

With a view to document the vision of the Department of Food & Public Distribution both at the national level and to capture the best practices, initiatives and innovations customised to local requirements across the various States of the country, the Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Government of Rajasthan, along with Elets Technomedia, publisher of eminent publications like eGov, Digital Learning, eHealth, Banking & Finance Post, has come up with this National Souvenir on-‘Food-Nutritional Security and automation of Public Distribution System’.

This specially curated national souvenir, which features a healthy mix of analytical articles, interviews based on implementation of schemes by the Centre and the featured States, along with industry voices, academic experts, third party evaluators and other stakeholders, focuses on ground level initiatives and implementation, best practices, success stories of IT, data analytics, e-Governance as also the outlook for the future.

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I hope that this souvenir will go a long way in making it more citizen-consumerbeneficiary centric.

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I am profusely thankful to the Government of Rajasthan, Hon'ble Chief Minister sir and Hon'ble Minister, Food and Consumer Affairs, for giving me the opportunity of a most satisfying tenure.

INTERVIEWS This section highlights various stakeholders, bureaucrats and policy makers influencing governance in the country.

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MUGDHA SINHA Secretary, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Government of Rajasthan

Editorial

MAGAZINE It compiles ICT-related advancements being introduced, exercised by various government organisations via eGovernance module.

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Dealing with various key developments and policy-related decisions that define Indian governance style at large, this section throws light on the most important aspects.

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This segment narrates the discussions and deliberations of participants at the occasional conferences held nationally or internationally.

Innovations in PDS Ensuring Food Security and Dignity for Millions The Public Distribution System (PDS) in India has emerged as an important tool for management of food economy in the country. Operated jointly by the Central and the state governments, PDS has undergone a tremendous transformation in terms of innovations adopted to stop pilferages to ensure that subsidised food grains reach the intended beneficiaries in a transparent and efficient manner.

Adoption of Information Technology by state governments and the Centre has been playing a crucial role in identifying eligible families, resolving various issues related to ration cards and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs). As a result, all the existing 23 crore ration cards have been digitised and most of the cards have been seeded with Aadhaar numbers.

Moreover, between 2013 and 2017 the government has deleted crores of ration cards ensuring better targeting of beneficiaries. In order to ensure transparency in grain sale process in the PDS, the electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) machines have been installed in close to four lakh fair prices shops (FPSs) out of nearly 5.33 lakh FPSs in the country.

The Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Government of Rajasthan, in association with Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, has come up with the National Souvenir on ‘Food-Nutritional Security and Automation of Public Distribution System’ to underscore the remarkable progress made by various State Governments and the Centre to ensure access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to the people to live a life with dignity.

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A compilation of specially-curated articles, features, and interviews from top decision-makers, experts and other important stakeholders, the souvenir seeks to capture how innovative methods were used to overcome the challenges in procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains across the country.

It deals with in-depth detail of various projects being implemented in any part of the country, worth inspiring others in providing solutions.

We are hopeful that the publication will help the country's Public Distribution System to gain immensely from the useful insights it would provide.

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DR RAVI GUPTA Editor-in-Chief, eGov magazine, and Founder Publisher & CEO, Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd

CONTENTS

INTERVIEWS

07 ASHUTOSH JINDAL

25 MUGDHA SINHA

40 ALOK KUMAR

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India

Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Government of Rajasthan

Commissioner Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Uttar Pradesh

FEATURES 15

12

Leveraging Technology to Streamline PDS Operations

17

KMS Khalsa

Deputy Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, Government of India

22

Suresh Kumar Vashishth

D V Prasad

Chairman and Managing Director, Food Corporation of India (FCI) Government of India.

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Smart Ration Card Scheme: Disbanding the Age Old Practices in Public Interest

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A Spring in the Step of our Farmers

Joint Secretary (Sugar and Administration), Department of Food and Public Administration, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India

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Kerala Making Strides towards Food Security

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Tamil Nadu, Sets New Benchmark in Transforming PDS

POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

UJJWALA:

A TRANSFORMATIONAL SCHEME FROM ACCESS TO USAGE During a period of more than 54 months from May, 2014 till March, 2019, more than 13 crore new consumers have joined the LPG family. This is unprecedented considering the fact that there were only 13 crore consumers in April, 2014 – thus meeting the nearly impossible aspirational goal of 13 crore connections in five years the same as the number achieved in nearly 60 years of LPG movement, says Ashutosh Jindal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, in an interview with Kartik Sharma of Elets New Network (ENN).

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Ashutosh Jindal

Joint Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India

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How is Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) linked to the SDGs adopted by the United Nations?

In 2015, 193 member countries of the United Nations formally adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious set of 17 global goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. So, what do SDGs entail for clean cooking?

Clean cooking is one of the significant actions which will impact 10 of the 17 SDGs and that underlines the importance being placed upon clean cooking globally.

In India, access to LPG started around 1955 and grew slowly to reach a level of 13 crore consumers in 2014, just more than half of the country’s population. It largely remained in the realm of urban and semi-urban areas and remained out of the reach of rural households.

What prompted the government to launch PMUY? What were its main objectives?

In India, at the beginning of the current decade, a large number of households continued to use conventional cooking fuels such as firewood, cowdung, charcoal, etc. Use of these fuels adversely impacts the health of women, children and the elderly due to Household Air Pollution (HAP) causing lung and heart diseases; causing environmental degradation contributing to air pollution and deforestation; drudgery of the work undertaken by women in collecting the fuel which adversely affected the socio-economic status of women in addition to its economic effect in terms of reduced earnings for the household; and loss of valuable economic opportunity through engagement of children, particularly the girl child, in these unproductive activities. Access to

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In India, access to LPG started around 1955 and grew slowly to reach a level of 13 crore consumers in 2014, just more than half of the country’s population. It largely remained in the realm of urban and semiurban areas and remained out of the reach of rural households.

LPG was largely denied for the rural households on account of the urban/ semi-urban presence of the distribution network and also other factors like lack of awareness about LPG in the countryside and high initial cost of a new connection. Studies pointed out that a poor household was not able to

convert to LPG due to the high upfront cost for a new connection. This amount was in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per connection for a single cylinder consumer.

Various estimates of deaths in India due to household air pollution (HAP) range between 5 lakh and 10 lakh deaths annually. It was, therefore, felt necessary to address the access issues by starting a new initiative to promote LPG as a fuel by subsidizing the cost of a new connection for a poor household.

Adoption and use of LPG would also help in addressing the issue of indoor air pollution.

Please provide us an overview of how the Scheme was conceptualised and launched.

In order to decisively address the problems faced by poor women due to the use of conventional fuels such as firewood, cowdung, charcoal etc for cooking , the Union Budget 2016 announced the launch of a new Scheme with a budget provision of Rs 8,000 crore. Within a few days of this announcement (February 29, 2016), the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (the Ministry hereafter) obtained the requisite approvals from the Ministry of Finance and the Union cabinet for launch of a new Scheme.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

The Scheme, christened Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY or Ujjwala yojana, hereafter) was formally launched by Prime Minister on May 1, 2016 to provide LPG connections to five crore poor households of the country. The Scheme was to be implemented through the field machinery of the three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs hereafter), namely, IOCL, BPCL & HPCL. Under the Scheme, a provision was made for the Government to subsidize an amount of Rs 1,600 towards security deposit for a cylinder & pressure regulator, cost of hose pipe, consumer passbook (called DGCC in OMC parlance) and installation charges. The other elements of cost, namely, specially designed low-cost stove (without compromising on quality) and first refill, was to be borne by the beneficiary.

Alternatively, a provision was made for

the OMCs to provide interest free loan to such beneficiaries who cannot afford upfront payment owing to poor financial condition. This loan amount (roughly Rs 1,600 per family) was to be recovered from the subsidy received on subsequent purchase of refills.

An OMC official was nominated as DNO (district nodal officer) for each district and entrusted with the task of coordination amongst all stakeholders.

The OMCs implemented the programme through their network of distributors (15,000 plus at the time of start of Scheme).

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Studies pointed out that a poor household was not able to convert to LPG due to the high upfront cost for a new connection. This amount was in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per connection for a single cylinder consumer.

Given the complexities involved at various levels, both at the Centre and in States, how was PMUY implemented across the country?

Efficiency, transparency and accountability have been the foundational basis of PMUY. The Scheme guidelines were framed to keep them as simple as possible and the beneficiary selection was to be done through ‘self-selection’ with any eligible household in the SECC list (more about this later) free to apply through multiple modes, eliminating

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involvement of middle-men and concomitant leakages/corruption. The implementation methodology was transformed with the implementing agencies going house to house to identify beneficiaries and issuing them new connections rather than the potential beneficiaries having to approach the Government agencies. A large number of ‘enrolment’ camps at villages organised by the OMC distributors made the process of enrolment of prospective beneficiaries hassle-free and easy.

What role does technology play in the Scheme?

A salient feature of PMUY implementation was intensive use of technology from day one. A three stage de-duplication mechanism was operationalised to ensure that an

existing connection holder does not get the benefits of PMUY by identifying existing connection in the beneficiary’s or any other family members name using Aadhaar, Bank details, AHL Tin and demographic parameters. Social media platform—Twitter, Facebook, a dedicated website, toll-free number, Mobile app developed by Socialcops and web-based dashboards and WhatsApp groups— were operationalised to monitor the implementation. A dedicated multilingual toll-free number (1800 266 66 96) was operationalised to seek feedback/suggestion/register

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

complaints. Further, a dedicated 24*7 number for attending LPG leakage related emergency through ‘1906’ was activated. An under-appreciated aspect is the massive efforts made to ramp up supply chain (from bottling capacity to transport to dealer location) rapidly to keep pace with the unprecedented demand in rural areas.

Regular review meetings were held with the top management and the DNOs through video conferencing at the Minister level and at my level. The Minister’s personal involvement in all initiatives, like the review meetings, distribution camps, etc. was a great morale booster for the field officers, in particular. Field visits by senior officials of the Ministry and the OMCs were organized to each district for a direct on-the-spot assessment of the Scheme.

Performing DNOs were also recognised by the Ministry and the OMCs during periodic review meetings. Large number of ‘safety -clinics’ were conducted across the country to educate the new consumers about safe usage and benefits of LPG. Active participation of elected representatives, distinguished local personalities and local administration ensured transparency and accountability coupled with the drive to make adoption process of LPG a ‘movement’.

Who are the beneficieries under the Scheme? What are the challenges faced during the implementation process?

When the Scheme was started, it was decided that poor would be identified on the basis of the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC)-2011, a database prepared by the State Governments and district administrations under the guidance and directions of the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Urban Development. All households with at least one deprivation under the SECC-2011 were deemed to be eligible. However, during extensive

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field work, it was felt that SECC-2011 had exclusion errors and many deserving poor were left out of the SECC. The Government decided in March, 2018 to address the exclusion errors by identifying the following categories under the Scheme: (i) All SC/ STs households;(ii) beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Gramin); (iii) Antyoday Anna Yojana ration card holders; (iv) Forest dwellers; (v) Most Backward Classes (MBC); (vi) Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes; (vii) People residing in Islands and river islands.

These categories were identified through wide stakeholder consultations and it was felt that families belong to these categories would be generally poor and unable to afford the cost of a connection.

non-poor accessing benefits of PMUY).

While the Scheme implementation moved smoothly ahead as a result of these additions, it was noticed during village level intensive campaigns (Gram Swaraj Abhiyan) that even this addition was not enough and some poor were still left out of the PMUY in most villages. It was felt that universalization is not achievable without addressing this unintended gap in Scheme guidelines. Accordingly, the scope of the Scheme was further expanded in December 2018 to include all poor households who are without access to LPG and who furnish a 14 point declaration about ownership of economic assets (a safeguard against

Another feather in the cap of LPG team was the swift growth in access to LPG which crossed 90 percent of all households. During a period of more than 54 months from May, 2014 till March, 2019, more than 13 crore new consumers have joined the LPG family.

This is unprecedented considering the fact that there were only 13 crore consumers in April, 2014, thus meeting the nearly impossible aspirational goal of 13 crore connections in five years the same as the number achieved in nearly 60 years of LPG movement.

Many international organizations, notably IEA and WHO, have appreciated the stellar work done by

Where are We Now? As of June 1, 2019, nearly 7.2 crore connections have been issued under the PMUY by OMCs. As mentioned earlier, the Scheme was launched with an ambitious target of five crore new connections. This target was envisaged to be achieved in three years, that is, by March 31, 2019. But we crossed the five crore mark on August 2, 2018, almost eight months ahead of schedule.

The Scheme crossed another milestone, the seven crore mark, on March 8, 2019 as a result of the sustained effort of all implementing agencies, the distributors and their staff and the OMC officials DNO upwards.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

Indian Government and the Ministry to enhance access to LPGin the last four-five years. Several Asian and African nations have evinced interest in emulating this model in their country.

PMUY has been facing criticism from several quarters over the issues of refilling and usage of LPG cylinders provided under the Scheme. As somebody who had been involved in the scheme right from its conceptualisation to implementation, what is your answer to the critics?

In the past few months, a narrative has sought to be built around Ujjwala Yojana, namely, the consumers have got a LPG cylinder but they are not using it. The Scheme is not getting any refills.

This is an interesting development from our perspective. As has been repeatedly mentioned in the paragraphs above, the PMUY was launched with an objective to facilitate ‘access’ to LPG for a poor household.

The Scheme addressed it by subsidising upfront cost which has led to a dramatic increase in LPG access. The focus on ‘refills’ or ‘usage’ is a paradigm shift. But we are not wishing away this challenge.

First, to set the facts straight, a recent analysis shows that approximately 75.4 percent consumers have taken their first LPG refill in the very first year of issuance of connection which clearly shows the acceptability and cultural shift in the usage of LPG. Many of these consumers have taken 5 or more cylinders since inception, which signify usage of LPG as primary cooking fuel.

But refills are an issue for some poor households which we are trying to address through five kg refills (for addressing the affordability issue) and by setting up points of delivery nearer to the villages (for addressing the accessibility issue).

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A salient feature of PMUY implementation was intensive use of technology from day one. A three stage de-duplication mechanism was operationalised to ensure that an existing connection holder does not get the benefits of PMUY by identifying existing connection in the beneficiary’s or any other family members name using Aadhaar, Bank details, AHL Tin and demographic parameters.

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The five kg option enables the PMUY beneficiaries to swap a standard 14.2 kg cylinder with a five-kg refill.

Complete conversion to LPG as a cooking fuel also has socio-economic and behavioural dimensions. Some alternative fuels like cow dung, firewood may be completely free of cost for a rural household. It will take some time for a family to appreciate that what seems to be free has other costs like health impact, time lost, which could have been used for productive livelihood. We have now carried out thousands of LPG Panchayats to encourage women to further increase use of LPG. A journalist friend who is settled in Delhi now for almost three decades mentioned to me during an interaction recently that he visits his village in North Bihar at least once every year.

Firmly etched in his memory is the presence of dense cover of smoke in the skies during the late afternoon and evening hours and, for the first time this year, he saw clear skies in the evening.

For all the skeptics of Ujjwala Yojana and its efforts to provide universal access to LPG, there could not be a better reply.

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REFORMS IN PDS

Leveraging Technology to Streamline PDS Operations As an outcome of the use of technology for PDS reforms, i.e., digitisation of ration cards/beneficiaries, de-duplication due to Aadhaar, online detection of transfers/migration/death or change in economic status of the beneficiaries, a total of 2.98 crore duplicate/ineligible ration cards have been cancelled between 2013 and 2018, writes S Jagannathan, Joint Secretary (BP & PD), Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

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REFORMS IN PDS

A

s part of the efforts being made to bring in reforms in the Public Distribution System and to improve the distribution of food grains across the country, the Department of Food and Public Distribution, in association with all States and UTs, is implementing a scheme on “End-to-End Computerisation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) Operations”.

The scheme is being implemented on cost sharing basis with States/UTs. The costs are being shared on 90:10 basis with North Eastern States and on 50:50 basis with other States/UTs. The scheme was approved by the CCEA in October 2012, at a total project cost of Rs 884.07 crores.

iv. Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Transparency Portals – Introduce transparency and public accountability in the implementation of TPDS through transparency portals, online grievance registration and toll-free helpline numbers.

A Snapshot of Achievements As per reports appearing on Central NFSA dashboard (https://nfsa.gov.in), significant progress has been made under the scheme. A snapshot of

As per the last amendment, timeline for linking of Aadhaar number with ration cards (at least one member of household) has been extended up to June 30,2019.

The Department conveyed administrative approval for the scheme to all States/UTs on December 10, 2012. The scheme has been declared as a Mission Mode Project (MMP) by the Government. National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the technical partner under the scheme. Validity of the scheme is extended by the Government up to March 31, 2020 (without cost escalation).

Key Activities Following are the key activities and their expected outcomes under Component-I of the scheme: i. Digitisation of Beneficiary Database – Enable correct identification of beneficiaries; removal of bogus cards and better targeting of food subsidies ii. Online Allocation of Food Grains – System generated allocation of food grains to bring transparency in allocation, up to the Fair Price Shops (FPS) level. iii. Computerisation of Supply Chain Management – Timely availability of food grains to intended beneficiaries at FPS; check leakages/diversion

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v. Online grievance redressal mechanism/toll-free helplines have been setup in all States/UTs. vi. Transparency portals are available in all States/UT. vii. More than 4.1 lakh (77 percent) out of total 5.3 lakh FPSs in the country are automated using ePoS devices in 27 States/UTs.

achievements at the national level, as per reports available from the States/ UTs as on May 2019, is as below: i. All ration cards/beneficiaries under NFSA have been digitized in all States/UTs. ii. More than 85 percent ration cards and 80 percent beneficiaries are seeded with Aadhaar numbers. iii. Online allocation of food grains up to FPS levels has started in all States/UTs (except DBT Cash Transfers implementing UTs). iv. Computerised supply chain operations has started in 26 States/ UTs (except DBT Cash Transfers implementing UTs and Lakshadweep).

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Seeding of Aadhaar with Ration Cards To weed-out duplicate/ineligible ration cards/beneficiaries and to enable unique identification of rightfully eligible beneficiaries/household, all States/UTs have been requested for seeding the Aadhaar numbers of beneficiaries with their ration cards.

Presently at the national level, more than 85 percent ration cards have been seeded with Aadhaar number of at least one member of the household, whereas, at the beneficiary level it is about 80 percent. Further, in pursuance of the provisions in the Section-7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, this Department has notified the use of Aadhaar to receive subsidised food grains or cash transfer of food subsidy under NFSA, on February 8, 2017 (as amended from time to time). As per the last amendment, timeline for linking of Aadhaar number with ration cards (at least one member of household) has been extended up to June 30, 2019.

Until then, no denial of entitlements to eligible beneficiaries has been advised to all States/UTs in case of nonpossession of Aadhaar and failure of Aadhaar authentication due to technical/network/ connectivity/ linking issues or poor biometrics of beneficiary.

Weeding out Duplicate/Ineligible Ration Cards As an outcome of the use of technology for PDS reforms, i.e., digitisation of ration cards/beneficiaries, deduplication due to Aadhaar, online

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Following are the key objectives of this scheme – a) Implementation of nation-wide portability in food grains distribution b) Creation of national level data repository for de-duplication of beneficiary data (Aadhaar based) c) Use of advanced data analytics techniques to bring about continuous improvements

Intra-State Portability

detection of transfers/migration/death or change in economic status of the beneficiaries, and during the run-up to and implementation of NFSA, a total of 2.98 crore duplicate/ineligible ration cards have been deleted/cancelled by the State/UT governments between 2013 and 2018.

Automation of FPSs Under Component-II of the scheme, i.e. automation of Fair Price Shops (FPSs), which involves installation of electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices for – issuance of subsidised food grains after biometric/Aadhaar authentication of beneficiaries and electronic recording keeping of sales transactions data in a centralised server, so far, more than 4.1 lakh FPSs (77 percent) out of total 5.3 lakh FPSs have been automated across the country. As regards financial assistance, the Government has approved an FPS dealers’ margins at Rs 87/quintal to State/UT governments under NFSA, which also includes reimbursement of Rs 17/quintal for their expenditure towards purchase and operations of ePoS devices at their FPSs. Such expenditure would be shared between Centre and State/UT governments on 75:25 basis for Special Category

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States/UTs and on 50:50 basis for General Category States/UTs.

Leveraging the above, more than 10 States (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura) have enabled intra-State portability facility for the ration card holders to lift the entitled food grains from any FPS in the State.

Aadhaar Authentication

Monitoring Institutes

As a result of Aadhaar seeding and FPS automation, the State/UT governments are able to reduce ghost lifting, and are able to achieve rightful targeting of food subsidies by authentication of eligible beneficiaries, improvement in service delivery, weeding out bad FPSs, etc. At present, nearly 80 percent (~10 crore out of 12.4 crore) of all electronic/ePoS transactions are being done after biometric/Aadhaar authentication of beneficiaries on monthly basis. The biometric/Aadhaar authenticated distribution of subsidised foodgrains at FPSs using ePoS device is also considered as DBT (in-kind) by the government.

Further, for the Concurrent Evaluation of the implementation of NFSA, on quarterly basis, the Department has selected 26 leading universities/ institutions of repute, having expertise in research in social programmes, to be appointed as ‘Monitoring Institutes’ (MIs) for 27 States/UTs. The activity was completed in more than 200 districts till March 31, 2019.

IM-PDS Further, to sustain the reforms brought in by the ongoing End-to-End Computerisation of TPDS Operations’ scheme and to introduce new reforms, the Department has launched a new Central Sector Scheme – “Integrated Management of Public Distribution System” (IM-PDS) – approved for implementation in all States/UTs with effect from April 2018 for two years.

Data Analytics With a view to introduce the use of Data Analytics on PDS data in all States/UTs, to enable them identify areas of improvements, streamlining PDS operations and to facilitate rightful targeting of food subsidy under NFSA, this Department has prepared a list of parameters to be considered for carrying out data analytics within the State/UT. A central team of data analysts is being set-up in this Department, comprising of experts engaged by this Department to visit and carry out data analysis in all States/UTs (in a phased manner). Till date, data analysis activity has been completed in 18 States.

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FEATURE

PROMOTING NUTRITION SECURITY IN INDIA

A new Centrally-sponsored pilot scheme on fortification of rice and its distribution under Public Distribution System has been approved by the Department of Food & Public Distribution. Based on the experience and learnings gained from these pilot projects, the distribution of fortified rice will be scaled up to tackle prevalence of micronutrient deficiency in India, writes KMS Khalsa, Deputy Secretary (BP), Department of Food & Public Distribution, Government of India.

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Malnutrition manifests itself in many forms–deficiencies or excesses of macronutrient and micronutrients.

Micronutrient or vitamin and mineral deficiencies affect more than two billion people worldwide and are especially prevalent in developing countries, including India.

KMS Khalsa

Deputy Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, Government of India

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Unlike the gnawing hunger that results from going without food, the deficiencies of vitamins and minerals often goes unnoticed. Hence, it is also referred to as ‘hidden hunger’. Although hidden hunger rarely shows visible signs, its consequences are long lasting and devastating around the world, pregnant women and children under 5 years of

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FEATURE

age are at the highest risk of micronutrient deficiencies.

India is home to about 60 percent of anaemic preschool children, 50 percent of anaemic pregnant women, and quarter of anaemic men. Anemia is pervasive and continues to exist across the population, income quintiles and age groups.

Daily intake of micronutrients as against the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) reflects a gap for most micronutrinets for all age-groups and both sexes.

Known strategies to address anaemia and micronutrient malnutrition include dietary diversification, food fortification, nutrition and health education, supplementation and public health measures. Food fortification has been used globally as a safe and effective measure to prevent micronutrient malnutrition in the vulnerable population.

In India, rice fortification has the highest potential in staple food fortification programmes as it is the staple food of 65 percent of the population and reaches the most vulnerable sections. Rice has the highest uptake in the government safety net programmes such as, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Public Distribution System (PDS), and the Mid Day Meal (MDM) programme with a potential reach of about 800 million vulnerable people in India, especially women and children.

Annual distribution of rice through Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Mid Day Meal (MDM) and Integrating Child Development Scheme (ICDS) amounts to more than 316 lakh tonnes, 18 lakh tonnes and 5 lakh tonens respectively. Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD) is primarily concerned with promoting food security at the household level;

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however, DFPD is now trying to explore the possibility and feasibility to support the ongoing efforts by different Ministries in promoting nutrition security in the country, especially through fortification of foodgrains distributed through Public Distribution System (PDS).

The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already finalized the standards for fortification of five staples - wheat (flour), rice, milk, (double fortification of) salt and edible oil. These standards have been operationalized with effect from 16th October 2016. The final regulations on Food Fortification have now been notified in the Gazette of India dated 2nd August, 2018.

l Distribution of fortified rice through

Public Distribution System, in one district each in a State/UT selected

by States/UTs (to begin with subject to a maximum of 15 Districts) to address anemia and micronutrient deficiencies. l Coverage of all NFSA beneficiaries under the PDS with fortified rice in the selected districts. l Facilitate cross-learning and sharing of best practices among States/UTs and DFPD. l An important Objective would be to evaluate the provision, coverage, and utilisation of fortified rice by the target population as well as the efficacy/effectiveness of the consumption of fortified rice in reducing the targeted micronutrient deficiencies in different age and gender groups.

For purposes of systemic efficiencies and cost effectiveness, the blending of the fortified rice kernels with the rice will take place as a continuous process during the rice milling stage.

It is against this backdrop, that a new Centrally-sponsored pilot scheme on fortification of rice and its distribution under Public Distribution System has been approved by Department of Food & Public Distribution. The Pilot Scheme has been approved for a period of three years beginning 2019-20.

The objective of this scheme is to start pilot projects in States and Union Territories with large rice consumption (in districts with prevalence of micronutrient deficiency) and sufficient milling capacity. Based on the experience and learnings gained from these pilot projects, the distribution of fortified rice will be scaled up. The key objectives of the scheme are listed below:

Government of India will extend a financial support to the tune of 90% in respect of North Eastern, Hilly and Island States and 75% in respect of other States/UTs. The outcomes of the pilot scheme are in consonance with the goal of Poshan Abhiyaan which is committee to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and low birth weight by 2 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent and 2 percent per annum respectively.

To address the nutrition and food security challenges in India and to ensure that vulnerable groups are not left behind, Government of India has undertaken a number of reforms in Public Distribution System to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the safety nets under NFSA.

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‘FCI ADDING TO OVERALL FOOD SECURITY OF INDIA’

17

18

KMS 2018-19 RMS 2019-20

1750 -

1770 -

1840

2430 -

2450 -

1950 -

1700 -

2897 1440

Procurement Wheat procurement: During RMS 2018-19, total procurement of wheat for the Central Pool was 355.22 Lakh MT as against 308.24 Lakh MT during RMS 2017-18. The procurement season for wheat i.e. RMS 2019-20 has commenced from 15.03.2019.

The Region wise procurement of wheat in last two Rabi Marketing and current seasonis as under: (Fig. in Lakh MT) Sl. No.

STATES/ UTs

Rabi Marketing Season

1.

2.

3.

4.

Punjab Haryana M.P. UP

2017-18 117.06 74.32 67.25 36.99

2018-19 126.92 87.84 73.13 52.94

2019-20* 0.34 6.29 8.76 0.58

5.

Rajasthan

12.45

15.32

1.00

6.

Chandigarh

0.08

0.14

0.00

7.

Uttarakhand

0.02

1.10

0.00

8

Gujarat

0.07

0.37

0.02

9

Bihar

0.00

0.18

0.00

10

H.P.

0.00

0.01

0.00

357.95

16.99

308.24 TOTAL *Under Progess. Data as on 16.04.2019

It may be seen from the above that procurement of wheat has shown a rising trend leading to further strengthening of food security of nation.

Total rice procurement (including paddy in terms of rice): The total procurement of rice during KMS 2017-18 for Central Pool was 381.77 Lakh MT as against 381.05 Lakh MT of rice (including paddy in terms of rice) during KMS 2016-17.

KMS 2018-19 has commenced from 21.09.2018. Around 381.99 LMT Rice has been procured till 16.04.2019 The State-wise procurement of rice for last two Marketing and current season is as under:

.

MSP of various commodities during RMS 2018-19& 2019-20 is as under:

(Rs per quintal) Commodity

KMS 2018-19 RMS 2019-20

PaddyComm on 1750 -

Paddy- Wheat Jowar- JowarBajra Maize Ragi Barley Grade Hybrid Maldandi “A�

1770 2430 2450 1950 1700 2897 1840 1440

Procurement

19 Wheat procurement: During RMS 2018-19, total procurement of wheat for the Central Pool was 355.22 Lakh MT as against 308.24 Lakh MT during RMS 2017-18. The procurement season for wheat i.e. RMS 2019-20 has

(Quantity in Lakh MT) Sl.No. STATES/ UTs KMS 2016-17 1 A.P. 37.24 2 Telangana 35.96 3 Assam 0.46 4 Bihar 12.34 5 Chandigarh 0.13 6 Chhattisgarh 40.22 7 Gujarat 0.00 8 Haryana 35.83 9 Jharkhand 1.39 10 J&K 0.08 11 Karnataka 0.00 12 Kerala 3.08 13 M.P. 13.14 14 Maharashtra 3.09 15 Odisha 36.30 16 Puducherry 0.00 17 Punjab 110.52 18 NEF(Tripura) -19 Rajasthan 0.00 20 Tamil Nadu 1.44 21 U.P. 23.54 22 Uttarakhand 7.06 23 West Bengal 19.23 Total 381.05 *Under progress. Fig. as on 16.04.2019

KMS 2017-18 39.94 36.18 0.35 7.93 0.14 32.55 0.00 39.92 1.43 0.13 0.00 3.29 10.96 1.79 32.87 0.00 118.33 -0.00 10.10 28.75 0.38 16.73 381.77

KMS 2018-19* 29.82 27.19 0.48 9.28 0.13 40.80 0.09 39.09 1.53 0.09 0.00 3.06 13.95 4.24 34.43 0.00 113.34 0.07 0.00 11.23 32.33 4.62 16.14 381.91

Procurement of coarse grains: In the States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, the State government and their agencies have undertaken the procurement of coarse grains in the recent past.

Region-wise procurement of coarse grains during last and current marketing seasons is as under: (Qty in MT) KMS 2017-18 REGION Maharashtra M.P.

20

Jowar 358 -

Bajra -

KMS 2018-19( As on 16.04.2019) Maize Ragi 440 -

Jowar 10931 135

Bajra 4099

Maize 6987 -

Ragi -

Haryana

-

180626

-

-

-

180744

-

-

Gujarat Total

358

165 180791

795 1235

-

11066

696 185539

1538 8525

-

(Quantity in Lakh MT) Sl.No. STATES/ UTs KMS 2016-17 1 A.P. 37.24 2 Telangana 35.96 3 Assam 0.46 4 Bihar 12.34 5 Chandigarh 0.13 6 Chhattisgarh 40.22 7 Gujarat 0.00 8 Haryana 35.83 9 Jharkhand 1.39 10 J&K 0.08 11 Karnataka 0.00 12 Kerala 3.08 13 M.P. 13.14 14 Maharashtra 3.09 15 Odisha 36.30 16 Puducherry 0.00 17 Punjab 110.52 18 NEF(Tripura) -19 Rajasthan 0.00 20 Tamil Nadu 1.44 21 U.P. 23.54 22 Uttarakhand 7.06 23 West Bengal 19.23 Total 381.05 *Under progress. Fig. as on 16.04.2019

KMS 2017-18 39.94 36.18 0.35 7.93 0.14 32.55 0.00 39.92 1.43 0.13 0.00 3.29 10.96 1.79 32.87 0.00 118.33 -0.00 10.10 28.75 0.38 16.73 381.77

KMS 2018-19* 29.82 27.19 0.48 9.28 0.13 40.80 0.09 39.09 1.53 0.09 0.00 3.06 13.95 4.24 34.43 0.00 113.34 0.07 0.00 11.23 32.33 4.62 16.14 381.91

Procurement of coarse grains: In the States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, the State government and their agencies have undertaken the procurement of coarse grains in the recent past.

Region-wise procurement of coarse grains during last and current marketing seasons is as under: (Qty in MT) KMS 2017-18 REGION Maharashtra M.P.

Jowar 358 -

Bajra -

KMS 2018-19( As on 16.04.2019) Maize Ragi 440 -

Haryana

-

180626

-

-

Gujarat Total

358

165 180791

795 1235

-

Jowar 10931 135

Bajra 4099

Maize 6987 -

Ragi -

-

180744

-

-

Procurement of pulses: 1538 696 11066 185539 8525 In June 2015, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) appointed Food Corporation of India (FCI) as an additional Central nodal agency for procurement of pulses along with NAFED and SFAC. Procurement of pulses by FCI was done under Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF). FCI, however, did not participate from RMS 2017-18 onwards in procurement of pulses as per decision taken by DoCA. As per direction of Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) vide letter dated 11.10.2018, FCI is carrying out procurement of pulses and oilseeds in three states along with NAFED and exclusively in Andhra Pradesh in KMS 2018-19 under PSS scheme.

Details of pulses and oilseeds procured under PSS during KMS 2018-19 by FCI are as under: (Fig. in MTs), As on 10.04.2019 States Maharashtra M.P. Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Total

KMS 2018-19 Moong Urad 5978.45 3632.467 276.05 50453.51 242.2 493 6496.7

54578.977

Soyabean Tur 454.232 16008.2 454.232 16008.2

Total 10065.149 50729.56 735.2 16008.2 77538.109

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FOCUS SUGAR

FROM SUGARCANE

FIELDS TO FAIR PRICE SHOPS In order to ensure that higher sugar recoveries are adequately rewarded and considering variations amongst sugar mills, the FRP is linked to a basic recovery rate of sugar, with a premium payable to farmers for higher recoveries of sugar from sugarcane, writes Suresh Kumar Vashishth, Joint Secretary (Sugar and Administration), Department of Food and Public Administration, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.

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FOCUS SUGAR

Today Indian sugar industry’s annual output is worth approximately Rs 80,000 crore.

There are 732 installed sugar factories in the country as on 30.09.2017, with sufficient crushing capacity to produce around 338 lakh MT of sugar. The capacity is roughly distributed equally between private sector units and co-operative sector units. The capacity of sugar mills is, by and large, in the range of 2500-5000 TCD bracket but increasingly expanding and going even beyond 10000 TCD. Two standalone refineries have also been established in the country in the coastal belt of Gujarat and West Bengal which produce refined sugar mainly from imported raw sugar as also from indigenously produced raw sugar.

Sugarcane Pricing Policy With the amendment of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 on 22.10.2009, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced with the ‘Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)’ of sugarcane for 2009-10 and subsequent sugar seasons. The cane price announced by the Central Government is decided on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in consultation with the State Governments and after taking feedback from associations of sugar industry.

S

ugar industry is an important agro-based industry that impacts rural livelihood of about 50 million sugarcane farmers & their families and around five lakh workers directly employed in sugar mills. Employment is also generated in various ancillary activities relating to transport, trade, servicing of machinery and supply of agricultural inputs. India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world and the largest consumer.

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The amended provisions of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 provides for fixation of FRP of sugarcane having regard to the following factors: a) Cost of production of sugarcane b) Return to the growers from alternative crops and the general trend of prices of agricultural commodities c) Availability of sugar to consumers at a fair price d) Price at which sugar produced from

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sugarcane is sold by sugar producers e) Recovery of sugar from sugarcane f) The realisation made from sale of byproducts viz. molasses, bagasse and press mud or their imputed value g) Reasonable margins for the growers of sugarcane on account of risk and profits Under the FRP system, the farmers are not required to wait till the end of the season or for any announcement of the profits by sugar mills or the

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) is now being universally implemented by all 36 States/UTs. Under the NFSA, there is no identified category of BPL; however, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries are clearly identified.

Government. The new system assures margins on account of profit and risk to farmers and is not dependent on the performance of any individual sugar mill.

In order to ensure that higher sugar recoveries are adequately rewarded and considering variations amongst sugar mills, the FRP is linked to a basic recovery rate of sugar, with a premium payable to farmers for higher recoveries of sugar from sugarcane. 6.6.

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FOCUS SUGAR

society i.e. AAY families. Accordingly, the Central Government has decided that the existing system of sugar distribution through PDS may be continued as per the following: (i) The existing scheme of supply of subsidised sugar through PDS may be continued for restricted coverage of AAY families only.

They will be provided 1 kg of sugar per family per month.

Accordingly, FRP for 2017-18 sugar season has been fixed at Rs 255 per qtl. linked to a basic recovery of 9.5% subject to a premium of Rs 2.68 per qtl for every 0.1 percentage point increase above that level.

Existing System for Distribution of Sugar through PDS to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Families Sugar was distributed through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) by the States/ UTs at subsidized prices for which the Central Government was reimbursing Rs 18.50 per kg of sugar distributed by the participating State Governments /UT Administrations.

The scheme was covering all BPL population of the country as per 2001 Census and all the population of the North Eastern State/ special category/ hilly states and Island territories.

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) is now being universally implemented by all 36 States/UTs. Under the NFSA, there is no identified category of BPL; however, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)

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With the amendment of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 on 22.10.2009, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane was replaced with the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for 200910 and subsequent sugar seasons. beneficiaries are clearly identified.

The Government of India has reviewed the Sugar Subsidy Scheme and has decided that it is imperative to give access to consumption of sugar as a source of energy in diet, for the poorest of the poor section of the

(ii) The current level of subsidy at Rs 18.50 per kg provided by the Central Government to States/UTs for distribution of sugar through PDS may be continued for the AAY population. The States/UTs may continue to pass on any additional expenditure on account of transportation, handling and dealers’ commission etc. over and above the retail issue price of Rs 13.50 per kg to the beneficiary or bear it themselves.

Pursuant to the above decision, revised guidelines for reimbursement of sugar subsidy to States/ UTs for distribution of sugar under PDS for AAY families have also been issued.

Production, Consumption and Stocks of Sugar Sugar production in India has been cyclic in nature. Every few years of high sugar production are followed by low production periods. From the sugar season 2010-11 to 2015-16, the country could generate surpluses for export. But due to continuous drought like situation in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the production of sugar in the sugar season 2016-17 had been lower than the domestic demand. However, with the carryover stock of 77.10 lakh MT of earlier sugar season and production of 202 lakh MT, the sugar availability was sufficient to meet the domestic demand.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

Borne on the wings of successful implementation and wide coverage under the PMUY scheme, Rajasthan is slowly but surely inching towards the kerosene-free state status, says Mugdha Sinha, Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Government of Rajasthan, in an exclusive interview with Kartik Sharma of Elets News Network (ENN).

Leveraging IT & Data Analytics to make PDS in Rajasthan Transparent, Pilferage-free & Citizen-friendly 2013 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

1. What does your work as Secretary Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Rajasthan, entail?

Food and civil supplies is another name for what is better understood as the Public Distribution System (PDS)— revamped and targeted under the overarching architecture of the National Food Security Act (NFSA),

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The main mandate, therefore, is to implement the various provisions of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 to ensure availability of staple cereals and coarse food grains (as per local availability and consumption cuisine pattern) to the eligible NFSA beneficiaries (identified

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as per the designated inclusion and exclusion criteria) across Rajasthan’s 33 districts through a network of approximately 27,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS) or ration shops.

The work entails everything relating to procurement from the farmers and sugarcane growers by FCI state agencies/food corporation/wholesalers, to lifting, allocation and transportation

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

to FPS shops for onward distribution of wheat, sugar and kerosene to the end-consumers.

Continuous oversight, grievance redressal and policy making for maintaining a calibrated balance and coordination between a) Centre and State, b) State and stakeholders across the spectrum from FPS dealers on one hand and consumers/NFSA beneficiaries on the other hand, c) policy making and policy implementation and lastly, d) automatic data collection and data analysis—all fall within the ambit of this department.

The entire gamut of the portfolio requires continuous policy making to harmonise a seamless transition from manual PDS regime to one that is fully online and automated—right from allocation (State end) to lifting (intermediary level in field) to distribution (consumer end).

Given the huge outreach of the department on an almost daily basis, makes the task an onerous endeavour with ever-changing technology and aspirations of the people.

2. Can you also tell us a little about the SDG Goals and how Rajasthan intends to achieve the targets? What steps have to be taken to ensure food-nutritional security?

Broadly, the SDG Goals in respect of Food Security talk of two aspects: l Zero tolerance to hunger, which is food security for all, and l Nutritional security The first aspect involves a 360 degree approach to ensure availability of food, entitlement and access to food, purchasing power, distribution and quality of food, which in turn translates into: l Procurement of food grains from

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farm to storage point

l Allotment, allocation, lifting and

distribution operations

l Public grievance redressal

mechanisms – both preventive and curative in PDS l Third-party evaluations, performance and social audits

Food security also means no starvation deaths.

The second aspect involves the health aspect of ensuring, besides providing food, targeted and focused attention to the disadvantaged category, lactating and pregnant mother, children between

Supplies of Commodities to Beneficiaries under PDS in Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, the PDS System provides three commodities namely, wheat, sugar and kerosene as per entitlement to eligible beneficiaries which in case of each commodity is different and as per table below: Commodity Total Annual Allocation

Category Beneficiary Numbers

Entitlement / Price

WHEAT

AAY=6.67 Lac DRCS

27.92 Lac MT

BPL=1.16 Cr Units

AAY=35kg/- DRC for rest 5 kg/- Unit

SBPL=29.0 Lac Units PHH=2.72 Cr Units Total NFSA=1.05 Cr DRCs 4.46 Cr Units SUGAR 8200 MT

Only AAY DRCs wef June, 2017

KEROSENE 40000 KL

Left out or Non PMUY eligible DRCs

PRICE: AAY+BPL=Re 1/- kg (State subsidy) wef 1st March, 2019 Rest PHH=Rs 2/- Kg

1 Kg/- DRC or AAY Family GOI Subsidy of Rs 18.50/- Kg 2.5 KL/- eligible DRC

Distribution of coarse grains like bajra, or pulses under the PSS or PSF through the PDS network is subject to the State policy and requirement.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

MAIN SCHEMES BEING RUN BY FOOD, CIVIL SUPPLIES & CONSUMER AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT Central Government Schemes l Wheat procurement from farmers on Minimum Support Price by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other State

agencies like Rajfed and Tilam Sangh. Rajasthan is a non-DCP State and therefore bulk of procurement is done by FCI.

l Allocation, lifting of wheat through the online Supply Chain Management System (SCM) and its distribution through

l l l l l l

Aadhaar authenticated biometrics on POS machines at FPS shops under the PDS system to 4.46 crore NFSA beneficiaries.

Allocation, lifting and distribution of wheat for Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

Allocation, lifting and distribution of wheat and rice for hostels and other welfare schemes Home delivery of wheat to specially-abled and senior citizens Procurement, allocation, lifting and distribution of sugar to AAY beneficiaries.

Allocation and distribution of kerosene to non or left out PMUY beneficiaries.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) and its various EMUY-I, EMUY-II to provide subsidised gas connection to identified beneficiaries.

Schemes Related To Automation & Computerisation of PDS l l l l

End-to-end computerisation IMPDS scheme Online Supply Chain Management scheme Data analytics in PDS

State Government Schemes l Mukhya Mantri subsidised Re 1 Wheat Scheme for 1.74 crore AAY, BPL and SBPL beneficiaries with effect from March

1, 2019.

l State subsidised scheme of wheat for tribals and special category Kathodis of Udaipur, Sehariyas and Kherwas of Baran.

0-6 years, mid-day meals in schools and also to the senior citizens, speciallyabled, etc, which in turn means: l Department and scheme-wise this means a convergence with Women and Child, Social Justice and Empowerment, School Education, Welfare Institutions, Hostels as also Tribal Area Development Departments and their schemes. l Area-wise it means targeted approach towards Scheduled Tribal areas. For eg, Rajasthan has a special scheme for free wheat distribution to Kathodis of Udaipur, Sehariyas and Kherwas of Baran. l To improve the nutritional content and impact of food, the wheat, rice fortification schemes are in vogue as are schemes for fortified edible oil, double fortified salt, etc.

3. Can you tell us how the NFSA beneficiary selection was/is done in the State?

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In 2013 when the NFSA came into force, it was decided to co-opt the pre-existing Antodhyaya Yojna (AAY), Below Poverty Line (BPL/State BPL) beneficiaries automatically, or by default as NFSA beneficiaries. The States were free to do revised survey to remove any anomalies. A clear-cut exclusion criterion was prescribed wherein income tax payees, government employees, people owning land above a prescribed limit, pacca house, two-wheeler, etc were to be excluded. Similarly, an illustrative inclusion criterion was also suggested which the States could customise as per their local requirements.

In Rajasthan, a task force chaired by the Chief Secretary was established as an institutionalised mechanism to annually review the inclusion and exclusion criteria as also to add new categories for inclusion as NFSA beneficiary besides prescribing the requirement of

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documents, procedure and competent authority for the same. In fact, last year seven new categories were added to the list of existing 24 categories, raising the number of categories for inclusion to 32.

A much simplified procedure has been prescribed for inclusion and amendments in NFSA. Any person who wishes to be included in NFSA can submit a simple application online at any E-Mitra centre, or submit it offline to either DSO or SDO. Post quick field verification by BDO in rural areas and EO in urban areas, decisions based on the merit of the cases can be taken and the results uploaded on the portal in public domain, which acts as a deterrent for wrongful inclusions at applicant or officer end.

As of now, we have about 4.46 crore NFSA beneficiaries in Rajasthan.

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POLICYMAKER’S PERSPECTIVE

4. Can you throw light on the requirement of ration cards in an age of Aadhaar biometric authentication and how do you plan to make them NFSA compliant?

The difference between the ration and Aadhaar card needs to be understood in context. While the ration card—an entity that pre-existed the NFSA or UIDAI Act—is essentially an identity card that documents and details the family and the members of a household (and their relationship to each other and other age related details) that constitute the family. In fact, it is the only card that defines a family. In contrast, the Aadhaar card is an identity card for the individual alone, like many other identity cards.

However, what is unique about the Aadhaar card is that it maps and links the unique identity of each individual through his or her biometrics (both finger prints and iris-face recognition techniques), and hence cannot be replicated.

As of date, we have seeded approximately 98 percent of our ration cards with Aadhaar cards and efforts are on for de-duplication and bulk validation to sanitise the list of the real NFSA beneficiaries in the State.

Interestingly, 12 percent of our NFSA beneficiary households and ration cards are in the name of women and we are poised to make this 100 percent with our next round of E-KYC and issuance of E-ration cards.

Given the fact that various Government schemes cater to either individual beneficiaries or to family as a whole, hence both cards continue to be important subject to end use.

What has happened under NFSA is that the ration cards and the Aadhaar cards have got linked as a necessary condition for availing subsidized PDS

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JUNE 2019

ROLE OF THE STATE FOOD CORPORATION

The State Food, Civil Supplies Corporation was established in 2010, pre NFSA with the aim of being a self sufficient organization that will take over the responsibility from Kray Vikray Sahakari Samiti’s (KVSS) of lifting wheat from FCI, and providing to the FPS shops in a more professional manner, as KVSS operations required to be more efficient and better managed. Over the years, in tandem with the various welfare schemes of Centre and State Governments, the Food Corporation launched several welfare schemes including providing fortified wheat flour, fortified salt and edible oil, spices and tea under the Raj Brand Scheme and for 3 years managed the Annapurna Bhandar Schemes.

Currently, the Food Corporation is the main supplier of wheat and sugar under PDS scheme and is responsible for lifting and distribution of wheat from FCI to FPS within the stipulated time schedules, through private transporters under the fully automated supply chain management.

commodities (subject to various SC rulings, etc) by way of seeding of Aadhar for every individual unit in the ration card and auto-verification (also through E-KYC) at POS machines at the time of delivery of ration.

Although none can be denied his entitlement under TPDS even if there is no Aadhaar card/biometrics, the deadline for getting seeded stands extended till June 30, 2019.

Currently, our 1.05 crore NFSA ration cards are manual (with their five-year validity expiring soon), hence the plan is to go in for digital ration cards all compulsorily to be made in the name of

the woman householder (18 years plus). Although as of now about 12 percent ration cards are in the name of the woman householders, a cent percent switch will happen only with the next-gen digital ration cards.

5. Can you please specify how a person with no ration card, Aadhaar and mobile can also get ration?

The ration card is an essential document that lists out the members in the ‘family’ since ration is still given to AAY beneficiaries per family. But it is the Aadhaar biometric authentication of each individual member or ‘unit’ in the said family that enables any of the family members to lift ration for either or all of his family/ members. Besides, the individual units in case of PHH beneficiaries also comes in handy to decide the quantum of ration per person in each family which then aggregates up to quantum of ration per FPS and per district.

Therefore while the ration card is essential for securing PDS rations, it is beneficial to have an individual’s Aadhaar number and mobile number seeded to the ration card to ensure ration is being distributed to the intended NFSA beneficiary only.

However, ration cannot be denied in the absence or simply on grounds of non-possession of Aadhaar and/or mobile for which several alternates are available to obtain ration in a foolproof manner.

6. You are currently purchasing wheat on MSP from the farmers. Can you give us an idea of the targets and other operation details compared to say the last two years?

Rajasthan is a non-DCP State as far as wheat procurement operations for PDS are concerned, which basically

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forces, which will be too vast, too disarrayed and largely anonymous to lend itself to easy supervision and monitoring.

means that wheat is procured at declared MSP rates in Rabi Marketing Season of every year by Food Corporation of India (FCI) in conjunction with other State agencies, primarily Rajfed and Tilam Sangh.

8. Are there any policy recommendations evolving from implementation of PDS scheme in the State?

In Rajasthan, in RMS 2019-20 we are aiming to purchase 17 lakh MT through FCI manned operations against an annual wheat production of 113 lakh MT at MSP price of Rs 1,840 per quintal. For this, we have established 204 centres across 27 out of 33 wheat producing districts in both online and offline mode.

The wheat procurement operations commenced from March 15, 2019 in four Districts of Kota division and from April 1, 2019 for the rest of Rajasthan.

These are likely to go on till June 15, 2019.

In the last RMS 2018-19, we purchased approximately 15.31 lakh MT at Rs 1,750 per quintal and prior to that in RMS 2017-18 approx 12 lakh MT, as against an annual wheat allocation/ consumption of 27.92 lakh MT. The difference is managed by surplus at end of year closing stocks and supplemented from neighbouring wheat surplus States of Punjab and Haryana.

7. What are your views on Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) in Food-PDS? Based on the surveys of NFSA beneficiaries across Rajasthan in the last one year, the two concurrent evaluators, namely BITS PILANI and SPRI, Jaipur, nominated by Government of India, it seems that the NFSA beneficiaries are more comfortable with subsidised wheat being provided by the government under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) at Rs 2/- per kg (Re 1/- kg for AAY, BPL, SBPL under the Mukhya Mantri Re 1 Wheat Scheme) rather than funds (at

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A lot of ground in terms of addressing, institutionalising and consolidating the targeted PDS aligned to SDG and NFSA has been achieved or is in the process, both at the level of Centre in terms of policy making and at States in terms of implementing for outcomes.

market rate of wheat) being deposited in the bank accounts of the 18 year plus woman householder.

The introduction of DBT in PDS is likely to have a huge long-term impact on the whole wheat cycle from farm to fork and hence a bit of caution is advisable.

Presently, the farmers grow wheat based on the assurance of the government to buy it on Minimum Support Price (MSP) were the market prices to crash. The same is then provided to the consumers (NFSA beneficiaries as part of welfare scheme) on highly subsidized rates under the Food Security provisions of the NFSA, through a network of designated FPS or Ration Shops (as far as possible in every village and ward in rural and urban areas, respectively and as far as possible within 3 kms of their residence).

The moment the consumers are exposed to the private market of wheat traders-retailers and the farmers are left to the mercy of the market, issues of wheat availability, quality, distribution-price matrix and purchasing power etc is likely to become unpredictable, leaving the vast number of already disadvantaged peoples to the mercy of the market

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In terms of making the system of public distribution free from discretionary human interface without doing away with its humane interventions for redressal of grievances, PDS is now fully automated, electronic, online and computerised along with a move from simple data based MIS to more predictive and extrapolative data analytics to plug loopholes, check pilferages, embezzlements and to provide a vast kaleidoscope of macroand micro-level data analysis for course corrections and bringing in more transparency in an institutionalised manner, available for all to see in the public domain.

At this point the only policy recommendations I would like to offer based on my last year and half experience of working in this domain is to be able to envision and ensure a seamless transition from a manual system of PDS with MIS reports to a more sophisticated fully automated, online and end-to-end computerised PDS. It is always a challenge for any system especially as a lot of policies, guidelines and rules, etc will need to get amended to accommodate and facilitate the transition from manual to automated PDS, which first needs to be understood and then incorporated into our policy making and functioning

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PDS Commodity/Themes

FY 2017-18

FY 2018-19

WHEAT Allotment 23.22 Lac Mt 26.85 Lac Mt

Increase By 115.65% Annual Target 27 Lac Mt

Distribution 22.51 Lac Mt 24.95 Lac Mt

Increase By 110.82%

Allotment Vis A Vis Goi Targets

83.18%

96.20%

KEROSENE Allotment Gor 169215 82872/134992 V/S Goi /259968 KL

(65.15%) (61%)

Moving Towards Kerosene Free- Surrender

Lifting

Increase of Approx 25%

110452 KL (65.22%)

70112 KL (84.60%)

Distribution 110402 KL 78436

(99.86%) (111.87%)

SUGAR Allotment 8102 Mt 4213 Mt

Distribution 2979 Mt 4221 Mt

(36.77%) (100%)

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REMARKS

Increase of 10% Which Means Left Over From Last Year Also Got Distributed Due To Change In Policy Sugar Only for Aay Covered 70% Ground In One Year

to allow for better convergence and outcomes.

questions, we need to be able to address.

For eg, the impact a fully automated POS and Aadhaar-based system has on designing of new-gen ration cards or whether with technology replacing human interface, a re-think on vigilance committees, its composition and its efficacy is required. Are we not bringing back the human element we so wanted removed with a carryover of systems from a manual regime to an IT governed regime, are the larger

9. How have you leveraged information technology to bring about more transparency and efficiency in the PDS System and has it helped to curb corruption in any way?

JUNE 2019

The facts and figures will corroborate for themselves how the shift from a purely manual-discretionary system of allocation and distribution (pre

September 2016) to a more sophisticated automated fully end to end computerized system (post August, 2018) has enabled Rajasthan to not only improve its targets of wheat, sugar and kerosene allocation-lifting and distribution but also bring in more overall efficiencies leading to reduction of cases of pilferages, embezzlements and also public grievances. An year-onyear (FY 2017-18 versus FY 2018-19) comparison across the three main PDS commodities will give a fair idea of benefits of leveraging IT in Food and PDS.

10. In a country where people are still not literate in digital technology, how and what are you doing to bridge the gap in PDS system, as now PDS is fully automated?

There are three main stakeholders who are impacted by introduction of automation and computerisation in the PDS system. l The human resources or officials primarily the district supply officer and his team of enforcement inspectors, who are required to shift to use of data analytics tools to oversee, monitor and inspect based on predictive promptings, hence it requires a shift in psychology and systems. Some disenchantment with loss of erstwhile discretionary power and empowerment of consumer end requires more motivation and change in role perception and preparing DSO and their teams for new shift in responsibilities which is likely to take some time and patience. l The Fair Price Shop or ration dealers who are required to use e-POS for ration acceptance (sent to POS) and for distribution to end NFSA beneficiary and hence requires some training in continuous usage of e-POS and its various allied functioning to be able to satisfy consumers.

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STATUS OF COMPUTERISATION OF PDS SYSTEM IN RAJASTHAN The public distribution system in Rajasthan is end to end fully automated and computerized and aligned with Government of India’s annavitran portal right from auto generation (based on ideal allocation per FPS minus opening stock at FPS at end of previous month prior to month of allocation) of wheat ration not only for each of the 33 Districts in the State but to each of the approximately 27,000 FPS in each of the rural and urban blocks of every District through the Supply Chain Management (SCM) System at State Headquarter Level launched on 3rd August, 2018, on now for nine months right up till the e-POS machines at the distribution point (FPS shops) at the consumer end. The installation of POS machines was done in three Phases from 2015 to September 2016 but it is only from January, 2018 that a memory sheet of every transaction and incremental changes year, month and day wise is being captured for data analytics for every consumer (ration card), every FPS (ration shop), every District and on as many themes as is possible.

Now the focus is to get districts and district level functionaries hooked on to the bandwagon of data analytics in a systematic and institutionalized manner to transition from their previous roles as discretionary allocators of ration to a more sophisticated up scaled role of analyzing the huge gamut of data being generated through e-pos beneficiary transactions for improving systemic loop holes both through a policy making regime attuned to the shift from manual to automated technology driven PDS as also to open the system in a more transparent and accessible manner to all stakeholders to self regulate and where required to oversee and bring in alignment. The ultimate goal is to use AI and Block chain to extrapolate and predict various scenarios for improving efficacy, efficiency, transparency and responsiveness of systems for the common man at large.

l The NFSA beneficiary who needs to

be able to see and understand his own electronic transactions and its history, read POS and SMS, lest he gets duped.

But with some training and lot of handholding Rajasthan was one of the early bird States to introduce e-POS and also a pioneer State in usage of data analytics tools to streamline the system, to make it more consumer friendly, responsive, accountable and transparent with less discretionary allocations, lesser pilferages and hardly any major embezzlements or scams in the last one year of being fully end to end automated. However, a lot more needs to be done to make data analytics a handy tool and more energy, funds and efforts are required towards building a robust IEC to touch base a huge outreach of 4.50 crore beneficiaries.

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11. Is there any plan to move Rajasthan towards a kerosenefree state, like Haryana?

As of now, kerosene distribution through e-pos machines through Aadhaar biometrics (linked to PMUY) is confined to the tribal areas and very remote areas of Rajasthan where the PMUY is yet to reach.

12. Can you talk a little bit about the best practices and success stories in your Department, if any?

Perhaps, the best example of implementation of ‘targeted’ PDS in Rajasthan involves inclusion of the aborigine tribes of Rajasthan especially the Kathodis (approx. 1100 in number) in Udaipur; Sahariyas (approx. 30,000 in number) in Baran and the Kherwas (2400 in number) also in Baran who are provided wheat under PDS free of cost from funds borne out of the State Exchequer amounting to approximately Rs 3 crore annually. Apart from wheat, they are also provided other essential items like edible oil/ghee, masalas, etc under the TAD package.

Besides, as a measure of grace, the State also provides free home delivery of ration either through the aegis of the

Borne on the wings of successful implementation and wide coverage under the PMUY scheme, Rajasthan is slowly but surely inching towards the kerosene-free state status. Just to share with you, over the last one year (FY 2018-19) we have brought down our kerosene allocation (by way of surrender in lieu of cash incentive) from 62,774 KL to a mere 10,000 KL and have earned a cash incentive (for 40,000 KL surrender) of Rs 40 crores from Government of India for the State government and a similar amount is due for remaining surrender.

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FPS dealers or through a choice to appoint a fellow NFSA neighbor as guardian to those NFSA beneficiaries who are both senior citizens and divyajans/terminally ill and are thus unable to go to the FPS shops to fetch their rations. As of now this facility is being utilized by approximately 18,000 plus NFSA beneficiaries.

Another success story is implementation for the first time since the FY 2018 -19 of subsidised wheat at Rs 4.60/- kg for Hostels and Other Welfare Institutions Scheme under which an allocation of 1614.18 MT of Wheat at BPL Prices is made available on 6 monthly basis by Government of India for approximately 1.16 lakh students in Government Hostels.

Another very important achievement has been the qualitative disposal of over 53,000 on-line grievances of the last 3 years in a short span of 3 months by a focused drive on a weekly basis which was also appreciated by the Centre for Good Governance, Rajasthan, the nodal agency for Sampark Portal.

The setting up of a fully functional Data Analytics Food Portal that allows the Department to not just oversee but also catch rogues in the system, making the system of PDS not only fully transparent but also ensuring that

leakages, pilferages and embezzlements are minimized and finally eradicated.

The leveraging of technology and end to end automation has also allowed us to harmonized our policy regime with new demands of IT

13. What are the financials involved and funding pattern in main areas of expenditure, etc?

The implementation of the National Food Security Scheme in Rajasthan for 4.46 crore NFA beneficiaries requires a total fund commitment of Rs 600 crores per annum. In addition to this is the expenditure of Rs 115 crore per annum, from State Exchequer on the CM’s Re 1 subsidized Wheat Scheme for 1.74

crore NFSA-AAY, BPL, State BPL and another Rs 3 crore per annum for free wheat to the Kathodis, Sehariyas and Kherwas as per State budget announcements. This only covers the cost of providing wheat and does not include expenditure on transportation, procurement and computerization efforts.

14. How has the State fared in PMUY Scheme? What are your targets and achievements? Are there any learnings from its implementation?

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May, 2016 focussed on the need to safeguard the health of women & children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel – LPG. Under this Scheme 5 crore LPG connections (later extended to 8 crores in April, 2018 with inclusion of 7 new categories previously left out from the SECC 2011 List) were to be provided to BPL families across the country with an upfront subsidy of Rs 1,600 per connection by March, 2019.

As of date approximately 1.54 crore households in Rajasthan are covered with an LPG connection and the coverage of cooking gas in the state has increased from 62 percent (May,

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2016 pre launch of PMUY) to about 80 percent households (till date post PMUY). Of these approximately 57 lakh households were added under PMUY. The targets of the two Gram Swaraj Abhiyans I & II launched in 2018 with full saturation of 599 villages (of 30 districts) and 1,603 villages with 1000 plus population (of 5 aspirational districts) were achieved fully and within time in Rajasthan.

However, despite the huge strides in coverage, the refill average at 4.2 cylinders per 24 months and which is even lesser for tribal districts at 2.2 cylinders requires more attention either through price reduction, enhancement of subsidy and its tenure or through introduction of the much cheaper 5 kg cylinders as also the enhancement of

LPG distributers from the current 1,321 dealers to more.

15. What are the findings of the Concurrent Evaluation of the Food and PDS Department in Rajasthan?

Government of India appointed two eminent institutes of repute, namely, BITS Pilani and SPRI Jaipur as third party evaluators to undertake a concurrent evaluation of the working of the Food and PDS System in all 33 Districts of Rajasthan over a period of two years. As of now four rounds of concurrent evaluation have taken place, one every quarter, across 19

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districts of Rajasthan and in every phase both the Institutes have appreciated the outstanding work being done in the Department across the 100 parameters identified by Government of India, validating our achievements and the same has also been acknowledged by the Ministry of Food and PDS in New Delhi.

16. How is this assignment different from your previous stint in Industries?

ration dealers or FPS owners who are one of our delivery mechanisms. But we should not forget other the human resources at all hierarchical levels, across the State in both field and headquarters, the various agencies of farmers, traders, wholesalers, retailer, transporters, millers, consumers, auditors, activists, NGOs etc that are engaged in the various gamut of operations at various stages which make the PDS operations possible each day every month, without fail every year.

Unlike my previous stint in the Industries Department, my job here has a more welfare oriented outlook and the everyday reach of this department touching base with 4.46 crore beneficiaries which is approximately 70 percent of the population of the State

To this system of stakeholders, we must also add the battery of programmers and information technology-data analytics experts who are very equally important stakeholders as the entire transition from a discretionary system to an

of Rajasthan, with more than 60 percent of this populace comes from below poverty line and Antyodhyay categories not only makes this a hugely challenging task but also and because of this also a more satisfying one also.

Also the magnitude and transformational role of IT and data analytics in service delivery is unseen, unlike in any other department.

online auto generated supply chain that ensures transparency, efficiency and corruption free accountable system, is all dependent on the seamless programming, data generation, collation and MIS.

17. Who are you key stakeholders and how do you negotiate their demands?

The NFSA beneficiaries or end consumers are our priority as are the

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Interestingly, while human interface is minimised to curb points of discretion and corruption by leveraging technology, some amount of human interface will always be required to prevent us from the tyranny of technology and for more compassionate means of delivery.

Our job is to ensure that calibrated balance.

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LESSONS FROM PUNJAB

SMART RATION CARD SCHEME:

DISBANDING THE AGE OLD PRACTICES IN PUBLIC INTEREST The measures taken by Punjab were recommended by the High Level Committee (HLC) set up by the Government of India on August 20, 2017 under the chairmanship of Shanta Kumar regarding re-structuring of FCI, writes Simarjot Kaur, Additional Director, Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Punjab.

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NFSA and its correlation to SDG

CHALLENGES FACED BEFORE DEPLOYMENT/IMPLEMENTATION

For the fulfillment of UN SDG 2 related to ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition by 2030 for all the people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations throughout the year, the State of Punjab aims to ensure supply and distribution of essential commodities to all the sections of the society through an improved Public Distribution System (PDS) with end-to-end computerisation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

l Fair Price Shop dealers used to replace FAQ stocks received with inferior stock and sell the FAQ stock in the black market. l Beneficiaries receiving less than the prescribed quantity and inferior quality food grains in ration shops. l Illicit fair price shop owners were found to create large number of bogus cards to sell food grains in the open market. l Numerous malpractices make safe and nutritious food inaccessible and unaffordable to the beneficiaries thus resulting in their food insecurity. l Identification of beneficiaries and the distribution of PDS services have been highly irregular. l Lack of clear cut criteria for identification of the beneficiaries in the traditional practice of providing ration under PDS giving a massive scope for corruption and fallouts in the traditional system and those who are actually meant to be benefitted may not receive the same.

The conventional PDS system versus our cost-effective right to food As passed by Parliament, Government of India had notified the National Food Security Act, 2013 on September 10, 2013 with the objective to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.

The Act provides for coverage of up to 75 percent of the rural population and upto 50 percent of the urban population for receiving subsidised foodgrains under TPDS, thus covering about two-thirds of the population. In Punjab, 54.79 percent of the rural and 44.83 percent of the urban population, a total 141.45 lakh persons out of the total population of 277.04 lakhs are covered under the NFSA 2013.

The eligible persons are entitled to

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corruption scandals. Under the conventional system, wheat was distributed manually and there was no track of the bogus beneficiaries or ensuring that the genuine and deserving beneficiaries have received their entitled quota of subsidised foodgrains. receive 5 kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidised prices of Rs 3/2/1 per kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains. The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 kgs of foodgrains per household per month.

Prior to the implementation of the NFSA 2013, under the conventional PDS system, the quality of the grains was getting compromised in the tedious and manual process of procurement, transportation, storage and distribution.

This led to a huge wastage of funds and

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The conventional system of supply chain management starting with procurement from farmers to distribution of grains to end beneficiary needed a complete overhaul. It was a high time to restructure the PDS system. Punjab treated the implementation of NFSA, 2013 as an opportunity to revamp the conventional PDS system to make it leakage free and transparent and ensure that all the deserving and genuine beneficiaries get their entitled quota of subsidised foodgrains in right quantity and quality.

Keeping in mind the empowerment of

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Due to the bi‐annual distribution of subsidised foodgrains under NFSA 2013, the State Government has also been able to save the expenditure on PoS devices. Instead of procuring/providing a PoS device for each of the 17,000 Fair Price Shops in the State, Punjab is able to distribute ration across the State with only 1,600 PoS devices.

The inspectors of the Department, who are supposed to distribute the subsidised ration under their supervision, carry the PoS device to the place of distribution for authenticating each transaction through bio‐metric identification of the beneficiary. By following above model, the State was able to save approx Rs 32.80 crores annually.

Sr. no.

No. of PoS Devices

Rates/ Month/Device (excluding taxes) in Rs

1

17000

1775

30175000

362100000

2

1600

1775

2840000

34080000

27335000

Rs. 328020000

Total Savings

Total Monthly Charges (excluding taxes) in Rs

Annual Charges (excluding taxes) in Rs

from the Government of India for Government official and a member/s the consumers/ beneficiaries, the State biannual distribution subsidised of Vigilance Committee, as Government had decided to distribute Also, Punjab has taken the ePoS devices on rent instead of purchasing these devices. ofThe rationale foodgrains in 30 kg bags. mandated by the Government of six months quota of subsidised behind this was that in case of technology up‐gradation with time in service delivery under PDS, the India. This ensures that the foodgrains in HDPE/PP consumer bags State will be twice able ato upgrade its existing system to their the due needs changing times easily.

For the steps involved for complete beneficiaries get wheatof in the Major weighing 30 kgs year.

This transformation of PDS operations standardized manner and any endeavour was undertaken to ensure: purpose of procurement of ePoS devices for PDS functioning, the State Government (after due include: leakage/diversion is checked. l Distribution of wheat in standard/ permission from of India for FPS sealed packs of 30the kgs cabinet) had negotiated with the following PSUs of l Government Under NFSA 2013, Department of Prior to the implementation of NFSA Food and Civil Supplies, Punjab lautomation: Distribution of wheat of right 2013, the beneficiaries were distributed initiated digitising the beneficiary’s quality and quantity old wheat stocks on FIFO principle.

In database. Details of all the l Leakage/diversion free distribution  Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) order to ensure that the beneficiaries beneficiaries were uploaded on of foodgrains  portability Broadcasting Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (BECIL) under NFSA 2013 get only fresh and ePDS application developed by the l Easy for consumers/ FAQ wheat stocks, the State Department and the same was beneficiaries  Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL) Government decided to be a DCP State seeded with the Aadhaar numbers l Consumer convenience by curtailing for the quantity equivalent to the the beneficiaries. the monthly visits to the Fair Price Shop After a thorough evaluation of the performance/terms and conditions of of these PSUs, the All Department State’s annual allocation under NFSA identified beneficiaries under NFSA l Six months quota of wheat is being has placed order with BECIL for providing the ePoS devices along with the iris and the weighing 2013. Special permission was obtained 2013 were distributed bar-coded distributed in the presence of

machines for FPS automation.

2019 36 JUNE [ egov.eletsonline.com ] The Largest Portal on e-Governance in Asia and the Middle East In case of failure of bio‐metric identification of the beneficiary due to some technical or other reason, a provision has been made for iris scan of the beneficiary. Additionally, for complete bio‐metric failure

LESSONS FROM PUNJAB

PROCESS FOLLOWED FOR DEPLOYEMENT/ IMPLEMENTATION

l The existing manual process of TPDS has been operationally transformed into a futuristic end to end computerization of TPDS chain and which is in line with the National Food Security Act (NFSA). l Aadhaar seeding has been used as a basic tool to clean the data and weed out bogus beneficiaries and thus authenticating each individual beneficiary. The Aadhaar numbers of around 98.15 percent of beneficiary families and 95.07 percent of individual beneficiaries have been seeded till date. l Subsidised ration is being distributed through the ePOS devices equipped with electronic weighing machine using Aadhaar Authentication of at least one member in the family of the beneficiary. l Model through Aadhaar seeding will eventually work not only to check the authenticity of each beneficiary at the delivery point of ration, but would be a great convenience to the end consumer where the respective ration could be disbursed to a beneficiary through his biometric authentication without a need for him to carry any ration card. l For successful implementation of end-to-end computerisation of TPDS, the capacity building of field officers and officials was done from time to time in order to achieve the intended objectives of the model. l The deployment of IT infrastructure at all Decentralized Procurement godowns in the state was undertaken in order to ensure that the flow of foodgrains from godowns to FPS is accounted for in the application

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UID compliant e-ration cards, in order to ensure that there are no bogus beneficiaries and only genuine/deserving beneficiaries get subsidised ration. l The distribution of subsidised ration under NFSA 2013 was started on the basis of digitised database of the ration card holders (e-registers).

Moving ahead for implementation of end-to-end computerisation of PDS operations and to bring transparency in PDS, the

department associated NIC for various modules/applications, which are: q eRCMS (Ration Card Management

System) application developed by NIC HQ was adopted and complete beneficiary database was ported from previous ePDS application. q FEAST (Food & Essential Commodities Assurance & Security Target) application developed by NIC HQ was rolled-out for implementation of supply chain management which also helps in tracking foodgrains movement from state godowns to fair price shops. q Distribution of foodgrains to end beneficiaries was done using ePOS application developed by NIC Aandhra team which facilitated Aadhaar based bio-metric

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authentication of beneficiaries using ePOS devices during the time of distribution. Utility of e-KYC was also developed in the application for real-time Aadhaar seeding in PDS database. q A web-service was developed by NIC Aandhra team, to showcase real-time status/progress of the State over a centralised dashboard of Government of India, i.e.

Annavitran portal.

The measures taken by Punjab were recommended by the High Level Committee (HLC) set up by the Government of India on August 20, 2017 under the chairmanship of Shanta Kumar regarding re-structuring of FCI. The HLC had also recommended in its report that targeted beneficiaries under NFSA or TPDS are given six months ration immediately after the procurement season ends. This will save the consumers from various hassles of monthly arrivals at FPS and also save on the storage costs of agencies.

Further, under the end-to-end computerisation scheme of TPDS operations scheme of GOI, the State of Punjab has worked upon a revolutionary model as an ‘end to end solution’, which addresses all the anomalies in the conventional PDS

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Online distribution of foodgrains was started from the distribution cycle April 2018‐ Sept 2018 onwards.

LESSONS FROM PUNJAB Following is the summary of last distribution cycle, i.e. October 2018 – March 2019

No. of Ration Cards

No. of Beneficiaries

No. of FPS*

No. of DCP Godowns

No. of PoS Devices

% Distribution

3542194

13745185

14162

314

1600

88.76

*Fair price shops which are temporarily suspended are not included

system at almost all the essential steps involved in the process. The new model is highly transparent in which the ration is getting distributed using biometric authentication through ePOS devices

with Inspector centric approach as one Inspector caters to multiple FPS. This BOXES has greatly reduced the role of mediators and has reduced the chances diversions, pilferages and corruption. of

GOVERNANCE PRACTICES INVOLVED l Enhanced supervision

The biannual distribution of wheat to the beneficiaries in the presence of the departmental functionaries and vigilance committees has been approved by Government of India.

This has helped in substantially reducing the leakages and diversions.

the State will be able to upgrade its existing system to the needs of the changing times easily. For the purpose of procurement of ePoS devices for PDS functioning, the State Government (after due permission from the cabinet) had negotiated with the following PSUs of Government of India for FPS automation: l Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) l Broadcasting Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (BECIL) l Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL)

l Grievance Redressal Mechanism This has helped to greatly strengthen Box 1 The presence of a robust Grievance the role of department through its Redressal Mechanism at three direct intervention and supervision at Challenges Faced Before Deployment/Implementation different levels: almost every step. This has almost a) Internal - headed by District Food nullified the age old discretionary role After a thorough evaluation of the Supplies Controller • Fair Price Shop dealers used to replace FAQ stocks received with inferior stock and sell the FAQ stock of fair price shop holders. performance/terms and conditions of b) External - headed by Deputy in the black market.

Transportation charges would be these PSUs, the Department has placed Commissioners/ Additional calculated automatically by taking the order with BECIL for providing the ePoS Deputy Commissioners co-ordinates of the storage & devices along with the iris and the • Beneficiaries receiving less than the prescribed quantity and inferior quality food grains in ration c) State Food Commission - five distribution point. weighing machines for FPS automation. member committee to monitor shops. and review the implementation of Due to the bi-annual distribution of In case of failure of bio-metric NFSA, 2013.

• Illicit fair price shop owners were found to create large number of bogus cards to sell food grains in In addition, there is a call center and subsidised foodgrains under NFSA identification of the beneficiary due to helpline for the beneficiaries to 2013, the State Government has also some technical or other reason, a the open market. address to their issues. been able to save the expenditure on provision has been made for iris scan of PoS devices. Instead of procuring/ the beneficiary. Additionally, for l E-governance • Numerous malpractices make safe and nutritious food inaccessible and unaffordable to the providing a PoS device for each of the complete bio-metric failure cases, a For the purpose of implementing beneficiaries thus resulting in their food insecurity.

17,000 Fair Price Shops in the State, mechanism has been devised and Smart Ration Card Scheme in the Punjab is able to distribute ration across implemented by the Department State, the entire operations have been the State with only 1,600 PoS devices. wherein inspector acts as a virtual • Identification of beneficiaries and the distribution of PDS services have been highly irregular. digitized. There are e-registers having nominee in such cases. Also, electronic the details of the beneficiaries that The inspectors of the Department, who weighing scales are being used at the even bears the sign of Vigilance • Lack of clear cut criteria for identification of the beneficiaries in the traditional practice of providing are supposed to distribute the time of distribution in order to doubly Committees and Depot Holders. The ration under PDS giving a massive scope for corruption and fallouts in the traditional system and those transparency portal for this purpose subsidised ration under their ensure the quantity of foodgrains being can be accessed upto FPS level by who are actually meant to be benefitted may not receive the same. supervision, carry the PoS device to the distributed to the beneficiaries and all anyone anytime and anywhere. place of distribution for authenticating the transactions are recorded digitally. each transaction through bio-metric

Also, Punjab has taken the ePoS devices identification of the beneficiary. By Online distribution of foodgrains was on rent instead of purchasing these following above model, the State was started from the distribution cycle April Box 2 devices. The rationale behind this was able to save approx Rs 32.80 crores 2018- Sept 2018 onwards. Following is that in case of technology up-gradation annually. the summary of last distribution cycle, with time in service delivery under PDS, i.e. October 2018 – March 2019.

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FOCUS: UTTAR PRADESH

‘Aadhaar-

BASED PDS HAS USHERED IN

Transparency,

PLUGGED PILFERAGE’

Alok Kumar

There are many urban districts where more than 95 percent of the transactions have taken place through Aadhaar. Although the new system has started functioning in rural areas recently, the figures we are getting are quite encouraging, says Alok Kumar, Commissioner Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Uttar Pradesh, in an interview with Arpit Gupta of Elets News Network (ENN).

Commissioner Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Uttar Pradesh

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FOCUS: UTTAR PRADESH

“We are fitting our supply vehicles with GPS to monitor their location or route diversions to stop various malpractices.

We automatically receive alerts when the driver stops the vehicle or takes a different route than the predetermined one.”

How is Aadhaar transforming the PDS in Uttar Pradesh?

Aadhar-enabled Public Distribution System (PDS) through Point of Sale (PoS) machines is a game changer for Uttar Pradesh. The process of using Aadhaar for distributing commodities has now been completed in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, it was completed only in urban areas of the state.

Through the portal – https://mis.uppds. com/ – we are able to monitor the PDS across the state at any time. For example, by simply logging on to the

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website, which is in public domain, I can access the information on how much food grains have been distributed under PDS in a particular district since morning today. Likewise, we can access districtwise monthly data on food grain distribution from across the State. It may include identifying distribution-wise top five or bottom five districts in the State, or the analysis of sales patterns in various districts over a period of time.

This new system has ushered in transparency. So, distribution through ePoS which is linked to Aadhaar ensures that a genuine person has collected the food grains at Fair Price Shop (FPS).

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Currently, around 80 percent of the ration cards have been linked with Aadhaar. Therefore, we make efforts to ensure that the distribution through Aadhaar doesn’t go below that percentage. A proxy cannot be ascertained as a genuine beneficiary, but as per the Supreme Court’s direction we have to allow distribution of commodities without biometrics as there have been issues of mismatch of fingerprints, especially in the case of manual labourers. So, we have found a solution by starting scanning of iris for authentication. Our data is also able to reflect that how much ration has been issued after iris authentication is done at FPSs. We also send block engineers to train PFS owners in iris authentication.

Can you brief us about the initiatives the Department has undertaken to further improve PDS in Uttar Pradesh?

We are fitting our supply vehicles with GPS to monitor their location or route

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FOCUS: UTTAR PRADESH

diversions to stop various malpractices. We automatically receive alerts when the driver stops the vehicle or takes a different route than the predetermined one.

Other initiatives we are taking include the introduction of electronic weighing scale of 5-MT capacity at block godowns. Some of these scales have already been installed in some warehouses. This has been done to address the complaints of FPS owners that they don’t get the delivery of their full quantity of commodities.

We are in the process of installing CCTV cameras at every marketing warehouse.

This too is being planned to plug the pilferages in PDS. Another initiative in the pipeline is to provide a 50-kg capacity weighing scale at the FPSs and integrate it to the PoS.

UP is one of the few states in the country which is using Command and Control Centre for monitoring PDS. Other states have also adopted the Command and Control Centre method for monitoring PDS. But the number of such states is very small. For example, the Telangana Government has used this system effectively to monitor PDS in the State.

What kind of changes wee you able to observe after implementing these initiatives?

General public is assured that every month they would receive commodities they are entitled to, although there are few challenges that remain. For example, we are trying to address the

issue of people getting the food grains at FPSs at the right price.

There are many urban districts where more than 95 percent of the transactions have taken place through Aadhaar. Although the new system has started functioning in rural areas recently, the figures we are getting are quite encouraging.

So far as Aadhaar seeding is concerned, Uttar Pradesh has 13 crore 50 lakh beneficiaries and 3 crore 50 lakh ration cards, which is a huge number. Out of a total of 12 crore 71 lakh Aadhaar numbers fed into the system developed by NIC, 11 crore 9 lakhs, or almost 85 percent of the total, have been validated, which is a big achievement.

The system is evolving as per the requirements. People can seed their Aadhaar numbers on their own from our Common Service Centres.

In terms of purchasing paddy and wheat we have set a record of more than 100 percent. But this year, the purchasing of wheat has marginally come down as the market price of wheat is good and almost equivalent to MSP. Against the target of 55 lakh tonnes, we have achieved 35 lakh tonnes and we are still left with few days to June 25 to take it further. Our work is to ensure the purchasing from farmers is done as per the MSP.

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TELANGANA ON THE MOVE

A SPRING IN THE STEP OF OUR FARMERS

For readers, it may be revealing to know that bigger States like Punjab and Haryana pay the middle men (arthiyas) rather than paying the farmers. This inverses the logic on which the concept of MSP is based on, writes Akun Sabharwal, Commissioner of Civil Supplies, Ex-Officio Secretary to Government, Vice Chairman & Managing Director (FAC), Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies Department, Government of Telangana, in this insightful article.

“W

hoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more service to his country.”

- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, 1726 The farmer plays a strategic role in the process of economic development of a country. The history of the world is evidence that agriculture revolution preceded the industrial revolution.

Increased agriculture output and productivity tend to contribute

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substantially to an overall economic development. Thus, it is rational and appropriate to place greater emphasis on further development of this sector – a role that the young state of Telangana has and is performing sincerely.

Telangana has seen a bountiful harvest this year. The toil and hard work of the farmers have produced 108 lakh tonnes of paddy; 56,000 tonnes of jowar and 27 lakh tonnes of maize.

The bumper harvest can be attributable to a number of reasons. The region has received good rainfall; this along with

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better and improved irrigation facilities has led to an increase in area under cultivation.

The farmer support scheme Rythu Bandhu has had a dual effect: It gave money in the hands of the farmer before the season was to start so as to invest in better seeds, fertilizers and implements.

Another factor, which is not commonly discussed, is the effect on the mindset of the farmers. In India, all parties— political, social or otherwise, claim to be pro-farmer.

However, farmers look at small indications and signs of the way the wind is blowing. Cash in the accounts of the farmers and better land revenue management were clear indications to the farmers in Telangana that the government is with them. Thus there was a favorable move towards better agricultural practices; better variety of seeds, fertilizers, implements; higher production and higher productivity.

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TELANGANA ON THE MOVE

and the farmers are left at the mercy of these middlemen.

Simple Economics It has, in the past, been seen that whenever the crop is bumper the farmers suffer and the middle men prosper. Why is that so? It is simple economics. Due to a bumper crop, the price of the commodity in the open market comes down. A small or a medium farmer has to sell his produce as early as possible. He has to re-pay his loans; purchase essentials and plan for the next cropping season. He doesn’t have the financial ability or the storage space to hold the grain with him for a long duration.

Concept of MSP The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a crop goes a long way in countering this narrative. However, in a large number of instances, what is found lacking is the seriousness in implementation and ensuring that the farmer gets the support price promised. For readers, it may be revealing to know that bigger States like Punjab and Haryana pay the middle men (arthiyas) rather than paying the farmers.

This inverses the logic on which the concept of MSP is based on.

In States in our own neighbourhood, the millers have been declared as the procurement centres thus making a mockery of the whole concept. In such a scenario, opening of 3,500 centres by the Telangana Government across the state to procure paddy led to the ease and ability to sell the crop in a nearby place. The farmer did not have to travel or carry his crop over longer distances.

The paddy procurement centres themselves are a unique feature -- a

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seamless integration of technology and simple procedures. A large number of these centres are operated by the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies or the Women SHGs. On his arrival at a procurement centre, a farmer is issued a token; his crop tested for quality and gunnies issued on the spot. Subsequent to this, the crop is weighed and loaded onto the trucks. It is record of sort that from the time of the loading of the crop on to the truck, it takes about 48 hours for the payment to be received in the account of the farmer.

The linkage of land revenue data, farmer details and bank account using technology in the form of hand-held devices and State-wide database details ensured that the operations at the paddy procurement centres was smooth and hassle free.

In the last nine months, I have gone around the country and studied the procurement practices in Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. We have incorporated the best that we saw. During the recent visits of senior Government of India functionaries, it is evident that our hard work in incorporating the best systems in Telangana has paid its dividends. We are one of the few States that ensures an early payment of MSP directly into the account of the farmers unlike even my own home, Punjab, where the money is paid by the government to the middlemen

The procurement season for kharif has come to an end. During these three months the Telangana government has transferred Rs 7,122 crores into the accounts of 8.05 lakh farmers. The whole procurement process was pro-farmer and without any glitches, which is evident from the fact that there were just a few complaints to the helpline set up by the State government; there were no protests regarding delay. This reflects directly on the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation.

More Efforts We have covered sizeable ground.

However, there is a lot to be done to ensure that the faith of the farmer in the government continues.

There is a need to do an advance planning directly based on land records and the sowing pattern well ahead of the marketing season. This will ensure that the State machinery is geared up to prepare for heavy arrivals of crop.

Satellite imagery data is within the reach of the Government. Studying the cropping pattern, productivity and area data over the past few seasons and linking it up with improved irrigation facilities will result in the Government making proper estimates and planning in advance.

As the irrigation potential keeps growing power is provided round- the-clock to the farmer; God is kind with timely rains; If this, along with and far-sighted schemes that provide money in the hands of farmer before the start of the season continue, I am sure that the smile on the face of the farmer and the spring in his step will continue.

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FOCUS: SIKKIM

Guardian Officers–

An Initiative by Sikkim for Efficient Management of Food Go-downs and Supply Chain Management System

S

ikkim’s topography and infrastructure poses a great challenge for the Public Distribution System (PDS) to function efficiently, especially due to issues arising due to poor internet connectivity, hardware and software problems, power supply, etc. In order to address these challenges, Department of Food and Civil Supplies

Introduction of the concept of Guardian Officers by the State of Sikkim has yielded positive results in resolving at the earliest various issues related to food go-downs, e-PDS, ePoS and FEAST.

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FOCUS: SIKKIM

and Consumer Affairs has come up with a unique solution —Guardian Officers— to mentor and monitor the go-downs across the State to bring in more efficiency to the system.

Issues and Challenges in Difficult Terrain of Sikkim l Poor network connectivity and

frequent power failures in food go-downs across Sikkim are major challenges in updating online works.

The Department is actively coordinating with network service providers like BSNL, Vodafone, Jio and Airtel for the improvement of network connectivity across the state for smooth transaction of all online activities. l Due to shared server space at National Data Centre at National Informatics Centre (NIC), Delhi, the FEAST/supply chain portal is running very slow which is hampering the online works in the Department. l The Department has procured inverters for all food go-downs and Food Corporation of India (FCI) offices for smooth functioning with un-interrupted power supply.

l The State Food Department and

NIC have jointly brain stormed the concept on initiating Guardian Officers to assist the go-down on various challenges like internet, hardware, software, power supply, etc. l The Guardian Officers to mentor and monitor the go-down in-charges and staff for smooth functioning of supply chain management system, e-PoS and e-PDS.

Role of Guardian Officers in Efficient Management of Godowns l To accelerate the work of Aadhaar

and bank seeding with ration card. computerisation of supply chain management system.

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go-down in-charge (hardware, software, internet connectivity, etc). l To work out strategy for cleansing of data/de-duplication.

Role of Guardian Officers in Efficient Management of Godowns l To check and monitor proper

functioning of e-PoS in all Fair Price Shops. l Any other guidance to ensure proper implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Best Practices to Efficiently Manage the Food Go Downs

Key Objectives of Appointing Guardian Officers

l To ascertain the difficulties in

l To extend technical support to

l The Guardian Officers are working as

a link between the Department, NIC and network providers, system integrators and advocating the need and problems faced by go-down teams for earliest resolutions. l The Department and SPMU team are working and coordinating as per reports from Guardian Officers to resolve the software, hardware and network or system integration issues at earliest and ensure the smooth functioning in go-down for supply chain management system.

Supply Chain Management System l FCI - RO Truck Challan - Gate Pass l Food Godowns - Stock Receipt r FPS Payments r Delivery Orders

r r r r

Truck Challan and Gate Pass to FPS Gain and Loss FPS - Lift the PDS Items E-PoS Distributions

Role of Guardian Officers in Efficient Management of Supply Chain Management l The Guardian Officers are helping in

Supply Chain Management by guiding the Go-downs Team. l The Food Go-downs are having problem in internet network, power supply and Hardware Software related issues which Guardian Officer are helping and pursuing the issues with right stake holders to resolve it.

Guardian Officers are monitoring and mentoring for implementation of Supply Chain Management System.

Guardian Officers – A Mentor for NFSA Implementation l An initiative to mentor the Godown

l l l

l

Team to accelerate the computerisation of TPDS Operations specially Supply Chain Management System.

The Guardian Officer cares about the Food Go-down operations.

Guardian Officers are key motivator for smooth functioning.

Also the Department has setup a reward system for Best Guardian Officer, Best Food Godown and Best Godown Team.

Guardian Officer provides all support to groom the Godown Staff.

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SUCCESS STORY: TAMIL NADU

Tamil Nadu

sets New Benchmark in Transforming PDS End-to-End Computerisation of Tamil Nadu Public Distribution System has ensured that besides avoiding multiple entries there is no way by which any individual member or even an entire family could be duplicated under the new system, writes Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.

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SUCCESS STORY: TAMIL NADU

F

aced with a number of issues that are common to paperbased ration cards, such as difficulty in maintaining the card, making changes, duplication, bogus and ghost entries, the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to introduce the End-to-End Computerisation of Tamil Nadu Public Distribution System. The new system, with its objective of bringing in transparency and accountability in the functioning of the PDS across the State, has not only ensured that actual beneficiaries are provided with the commodities but also made the ration card management process more effective and user friendly.

Situation before the New System was Adopted After a massive exercise of verification of family card holders, paper-based cards were issued through Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (ELCOT) from 2005 onwards. Renewal of this card was carried out by adding/pasting inner sheets every year. It had to bear the wear and tear of more than a decade and the card holders expressed their difficulty in maintaining and handling this paperbased ration cards. The data base used for printing cards and for effecting changes in members, addresses, etc, was old and outdated. The system of removing people or families, who died, migrated, etc, was also not available. As a result of all this, the card data base contained a number of bogus and ghost entries. Ghost entries are non-existent families/individuals, while bogus entries include multiple entries of any individuals/part or whole of families.

The mutations in the card like addition of names in the family card, deletion of name and any other mutational changes like the request for a new card and duplicate card were being carried out manually. Any one in need of a card had to apply to the Taluk Supply Officer/Assistant Commissioner in person. The

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verification and issue process took anywhere between 10 to 60 days.

The allocation of commodities to the Fair Price Shops (FPSs) was done based on the units and members existing in the ration card and on the basis of the closing balance of the commodities for the previous month at the shop level.

This was not live data, as it was being collected from the FPSs. Based on the allotment by the Department of Tamil Nadu Public Distribution System, allocation orders were generated by TSO/Assistant Commissioner and were handed over to the warehouses and movement of commodities were done on this basis to the FPSs. The essential commodities thus allotted were

distributed to the ration card holders by the process of manual billing and corresponding entries were made in the paper-based registers in the FPSs.

Strategy Adopted Recognising the difficulties in using the above system of card management, the State government took a visionary decision to go for a new system of ration card management based on the Aadhaar database created by the department. This project is called End-to-End Computerisation of Tamil Nadu Public Distribution System. The major objective of the project is to bring in the transparency and accountability in the functioning of the

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SUCCESS STORY: TAMIL NADU

In addition, a mobile APP, ‘TNePDS’, is also available for the Family Card holders to make the changes in their cards. Thus, the card holders have been empowered to manage their cards, eliminating the need to approaching government offices or any intermediaries for it.

PDS, thereby, ensuring proper availability and distribution of the essential commodities to the citizens of the State. Further, the project also aims at paperless eco-friendly way of record keeping and maintenance for easy and live online monitoring and verification.

Business Process Re-engineering Initially, internet-enabled Point of Sale Devices (PoS) were supplied to all the FPSs in the State. The device was used to register old card details like card number, number of adults, children, type of the card, LPG details, etc. To these details, Aadhaar information from the QR code in the Aadhaar card was seeded. A family card holder database was thus created with the Aadhaar number and other details like the name, Date of Birth, etc, which were available in the Aadhaar Card. Further, the mobile number of a family member was also seeded to the database. At the Central Server shop-wise details of all the cards attached to the shops was made available. It also stores details of eligibility of commodities for each card, details of withdrawals made till date, etc.

These PoS machines were also used to update the stock of the essential commodities of the particular Fair Price Shop. In addition, these PoS machines also act as billing machines to distribute essential commodities to the Family

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The main aspect of the QR code is that it contains a unique family code specific to a Family Card. As and when the printed smart card is taken to an FPS for the first time, the shop device scans the card and sends the information to the central server.

Card Holders. A SMS is being sent to the Family Card holder in his registered mobile number for every transaction made at the Fair Price Shop.

A separate portal, www.tnpds.gov.in, was developed for the public to view and know about the Public Distribution System in the State and a separate facility has been provided for the Family Card holders to login using their Registered Mobile Number (RMN) and make any mutational changes in the Family Card associated with the RMN.

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For the internal stakeholders of the department, a MIS portal is available to view/download and monitor the activities of the entire PDS system in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, another portal is available to make the required changes wherever and whenever necessary in the existing data of the Family Card Holders and other related data based on proper authentication.

As a result of the above reengineering process, a new ‘Smart’ Family Card with features like Guilloche pattern, UV mark of Tamil Nadu Government emblem, water marks of the State government emblem and Family Card specific Quick Response (QR) code has replaced the paper-based Family Card. It also have detailed information like the name of issuing department, title of the type of PDS card, name and photograph of head of the family, a unique family code, details of family members, date of birth of the head of the family, address, and classification of cards as Priority Household Cards (PHH) Non-priority Household cards(NPHH). The commodities are distributed to the Family Card holders using PoS machines by scanning the QR code in the Smart Family Cards.

The main aspect of the QR code is that it contains a unique family code specific to a Family Card. As and when the printed smart card is taken to an FPS for the first time, the shop device scans the card and sends the information to the central server. Thus, the card to shop linkage is established and the card is ready for transaction.

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SUCCESS STORY: TAMIL NADU

Results Achieved/Anticipated The project, End-to-End Computerisation of TNPDS, has ensured a convenient and practical monitoring mechanism of the FPSs, thereby, creating a transparent and accountable mechanism in distribution of the essential commodities to the Family Card holders. It has made a major breakthrough for both the Department as well as the common man by simplifying the work and also has brought down the time involved in carrying out these work.

The database created has ensured that the actual beneficiaries are provided with the commodities. The database created by this Department can also be used in future by other departments for implementing their schemes as the database has tagged the details regarding the PHH, NPHH, AAY, etc.

Improvements in Efficiency A helpdesk mechanism with toll-free short code 1967 functioning from 8am to 6pm on all business days is available for the Family Card holders and PFS owners to register their complaints and other grievances with respect to PDS in

the State. Also, the stakeholders can avail this facility to make themselves well versed with functioning of the system.

Further, Family Card holders can send their complaints through email/SMS for necessary action by the Department.

Sustainability As the project is designed in such a way with the help of simple & compatible technology and online monitoring mechanism, the project is expected to be sustainable in long run.

Scalability of the Project Lessons Learnt It is proposed to integrate the existing PoS machines with biometric authentication mechanism with UIDAI and thermal printer for printing of receipts at Fair Price Shops. It is also proposed to enable Aadhaar enabled cashless transaction with the help of the PoS devices at the Fair Price Shops. Apart from this, the department is even working on bringing mobility of card holders to purchase commodities “anywhere and at anytime�

l Deduplication of adult members

l

l

Adaptability Each and every data with respect to Public Distribution System is originated from the PoS device in the Fair Price Shop and the PoS device is easy to handle both for sales as well as for maintaining the records for transaction without manual record keeping by the Fair Price Shop personnel.

l

l

l

with Aadhaar information has been done. This has resulted in member reduction, thus the real beneficiaries only are able to receive the essential commodities.

The Ghost cards/Bogus cards have been automatically removed from the system.

The public can make use of mobile APP as well as beneficiary login in the public portal to know the availability of food grains, shop timing and related information with respect to their Family cards.

Since SMS messages are sent to the Family Card Holders to their Registered Mobile Numbers, the bogus billing has been curtailed.

The system has paved way for online monitoring of all the activities related to the Public Distribution System, i.e., the movement of essential commodities from warehouses to the FPSs and then to the card holder.

Paper work at the shop/ taluk/ district/State level with respect to transaction, allotment & stock maintenance of essential commodities has been eliminated.

Response of State Government/ Local Authority/Agency The project is funded by the Central Government and the State Government on 50:50 sharing basis for digitisation of cards. As far as computerisation of PDS is concerned, the State government has completely funded it without any assistance from the Government of India.

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Eco-friendly Alternatives Eco-friendly Alternatives

AAI is also enhancing its waste management systems and is AAI is also enhancing its waste promoting the use of eco-friendly management systems and is sustainable alternatives promoting the use of eco-friendly progressively like the use of sustainable alternatives bio-degradable garbage bags in the progressively like the use of garbage bins and installation of bio-degradable garbage bags in the plastic bottle crushing machine at garbage bins and installation of airports. AAI airports have also plastic bottle crushing machine at started various awareness airports. AAI airports have also campaigns for sensitising all started various awareness stakeholders, especially passengers, campaigns for sensitising all stakeholders, especially passengers,

In its quest for making environmental conservation an In its quest for making ingrained organisational mission, environmental conservation an AAI has framed an Environment ingrained organisational mission, Policy which envisages its AAI has framed an Environment commitment for reduction of Green Policy which envisages its House Gases (GHG) and sustainable commitment for reduction of Green development by implementing House Gases (GHG) and sustainable cost-effective carbon mitigation development by implementing action to conserve environment and cost-effective carbon mitigation reduce adverse impact on society, action to conserve environment and community and ecosystem, thus reduce adverse impact on society, contributing to national sustainable community and ecosystem, thus development goals. As a part of this contributing to national sustainable policy, AAI is conscious and development goals. As a part of this committed towards sensitising all policy, AAI is conscious and employees and stakeholders to fulfil committed towards sensitising all environmental obligation by employees and stakeholders to fulfil reducing carbon footprint. environmental obligation by reducing carbon footprint.

It is us who produce hundreds of millions of tons of plastic every It is us who produce hundreds of year, most of which cannot be millions of tons of plastic every recycled. It is crucial that we year, most of which cannot be understand the need to use no or recycled. It is crucial that we less plastic, shift to environmentally understand the need to use no or sustainable products and less plastic, shift to environmentally services and come up with sustainable products and technology that recycles plastic services and come up with more efficiently. technology that recycles plastic more efficiently.

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JUNE - JULY 2019

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