Delhi govt to plug PDS loopholes through Aadhaar-enabled ePoS devices at fair price shops

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) The Delhi government is set to implement an Aadhaar-enabled public distribution system (PDS) in the national capital to plug the loopholes and pilferage in ration allocation from fair price shops, officials said on Wednesday.

The process of hiring a system integrator for the installation of electronic point-of-sale (ePoS) machines is currently underway, they said.

There are over 2,000 PDS outlets that will be equipped with e-PoS machines for Aadhaar authentication of the beneficiaries. According to the food, supplies, and consumer affairs department, there are more than 72 lakh PDS beneficiaries in Delhi.

The department has issued a tender for the installation and maintenance of ePoS devices, along with IRIS scanners and electronic weighing systems at all 2,000 PDS outlets for a duration of five years, he said.

The ePoS devices will be equipped with two functional SIM cards, a stylus pen, and an in-built fingerprint scanner. Additionally, the devices will be geo-tagged, allowing for location tracking by the integrator to ensure effective management of the PDS shops.

The IRIS scanner integrated with the ePoS will provide an alternative authentication method in case the fingerprint authentication fails.

The system will also have provision for sending SMS and WhatsApp messages to the beneficiaries, as well as printed slips at the time of ration distribution.

The food supply department will provide the system integrator with software that will be uploaded to the ePoS devices, each of which will have a unique ID that is mapped to the specific PDS shop, as mentioned in the tender document.

Training for ePoS users, helpdesk support, and technical assistance will also be provided by the system integrator.

The device will collect relevant information from Aadhaar holders, prepare authentication data packets and receive authentication results. Collection of Aadhaar information by the authentication devices will be carried out in compliance with the guidelines of the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The authentication devices will be such that they can not retain Aadhaar holders' details, for data safety purposes.

Additionally, further safeguards will be implemented to prohibit the system integrator from storing the Aadhaar data of beneficiaries in their database or any other form, officials added. PTI VIT VIT MPL MPL