Biometric coupons for PDS kerosene in entire city from today

The system of issuing barcoded biometric coupons for supply of kerosene under the Public Distribution System (PDS) will be extended to entire Bengaluru city from June 1.

The Food and Civil Supplies department had launched a pilot project of providing biometrics-based barcoded coupons to beneficiaries for procuring kerosene at select 50 fair price shops in Bengaluru. 

The project has been a success as it has not only helped in keeping track of kerosene provided through PDS but also ensured the entitlements reach the beneficiaries, Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

 Besides the 1,132 fair price shops in Bengaluru, the new system will be extended to 10 select shops each in all district headquarters in Karnataka. The plan is to extend the system for supply of food grains and other commodities after refining the model in the coming months, the minister said.

 The barcoded coupons can be procured by the beneficiary by providing his/her biometrics at the nearest BengaluruOne centre or other citizen-centric service kiosks. 

The beneficiary will have to furnish the coupon at the fair price shop to get the ration. The beneficiary can SMS the ration card and Aadhaar number from their registered mobile to 9731979899. On authentication, the barcoded coupon number will be sent back.

The minister said the department was contemplating providing coupons for three to four months at one go so that the beneficiary need not make multiple visits to kiosks.

The Food and Civil Supplies department Principal Secretary Harsh Gupta said the system would ensure that the PDS entitlements were not misused and added that it would also help in monitoring the dealer.

Rao said it could also prevent illegal diversion of subsidised kerosene to factories and other fuel-requiring units. 

The total annual kerosene subsidy in the state stands at Rs 2,000 crore.

Aadhaar linkThe Food and Divil Supplies department has fixed June 15 as the last date for beneficiaries to link their Aadhaar number with their ration card. PDS entitlements will be stopped to card holders who fail to link their Aadhaar number before the deadline, Rao said.

There are 1.10 crore ration cards in the state and 89.43 lakh card holders have linked their Aadhaar number, he said.