OTP, face recognition for take-home ration to be rolled out across UP by July

Lucknow: To strengthen the fight against malnutrition, the Uttar Pradesh government has integrated the Face Recognition System (FRS) into the Poshan Tracker, ensuring the targeted and transparent delivery of Take-Home Ration (THR) to pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescents and children aged six months to six years, an official statement issued on Thursday said.

According to it, a statewide awareness and registration campaign will be conducted with a directive to achieve 100 per cent FRS coverage across the state by July 1.

FRS operates as a dual-authentication mechanism, combining facial recognition with one-time password (OTP) verification.

Beneficiaries' photographs are matched with Aadhaar-linked e-KYC data, and OTPs sent to their registered mobile numbers are verified at Anganwadi centres. This robust system helps prevent fraud and ensures that rations reach the intended recipients, it said.

Launched in 2024, the FRS pilot began in Bidhanu and Sarsaul (Kanpur Nagar) and was scaled up across the state by November 14 last year, the statement said.

As of June 13, e-KYC for 1.18 crore eligible beneficiaries is underway, with Kanpur Nagar leading at 45.34 per cent progress.

Meanwhile, districts like Badaun and Bahraich have shown slow progress and will receive focused attention, it said.

State funds for THR will be released only to FRS-registered beneficiaries; FRS will be mandatory for new beneficiaries from August 1. District magistrates have been instructed to hold registration camps at the block and panchayat levels, monitor progress daily and raise awareness, and chief development officers are to conduct regular reviews to ensure timely implementation.

Poshan Tracker is a mobile application-based nutrition monitoring system. This tool has been developed to identify the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among children and track the last-mile delivery of nutrition services.