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To ensure elimination of bogus ration cards, the central government is pushing states to go for biometric ones, taking the help of unique identification (UID) numbers. States have been asked to take a lead in distributing biometric ration cards, as identification of beneficiaries for issuing ration cards is a state subject. States like Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra have already launched pilot projects to make biometric ration cards. A senior food ministry official said a biometric ration card would be different from a regular one. It would have barcoded details of the beneficiary, with a picture of the head of the family. The card can be read at any ration shop through a machine that will then be matched with the fingerprint details of the beneficiary to eliminate duplication or misuse.

The Dahod district administration has given 10 days notice to all Fair Price Shop (FPS) owners to submit the details of 2.5 lakh biometric ration card holders. This comes after a scam was unearthed in the Public Distribution System in Panchmahals district, where 1.1 lakh bogus ration cards were found during a scrutiny recently. FPS owners have been increasingly making fake cards to get subsidised essential food supplies, according to District Supply Office.

"Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will soon establish data entry centres in all villages to collect details of citizens so that it can issue Aadhar cards with unique identification number. Officials of UIDAI and the Planning Commission conducted a review meeting in the Zilla Parishad conference hall over the progress of the Aadhar card programme in the district. They have urged public representatives including ZPTC and MPTC members to create awareness among the public over Aadhar cards which would provide unique identification number to every citizen of the country. UIDAI director Mr. Ravindra said applications for the cards would be available at all the ration shops and AP Online centres. According to him, people above 5 years of age were eligible to get the cards. "The scheme is very important for the downtrodden sections as Aadhar cards will enable them to get many benefits from the government," he said. "Corrections in the existing ration cards will also be possible with the entry of new data which is essential for issuing Aadhar cards," he added."

"BALANGIR: Chaos reigned supreme over the Unique Identification Card (UID) data procurement process in Balangir, with poor people queuing up eagerly hoping to be doled out more rations and old age pensions, only to be disappointed and irritated at the painstaking process of collecting their photographs, eye and thumb impressions. Even as BPL families left spaces meant for filling up PAN card number, DL, LPG card number, pension ID, health insurance number, etc., blank in the UID forms, they remained clueless about the purpose of the UID, trekking to the centres where the enumeration process for the multi-utility UID document is on, with the idea that they will be given immediate rewards like more rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS) or immediate jobs under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Needless to say, the places were scenes of total chaos as villagers were seen losing their patience. Thay failed to understand the entire exercise and had little idea what the UID card is all about."

o not be surprised if you are asked to furnish information under more than eight mandatory heads - demographic and biometric - when you go for registration under the Unique Identification (UID) number project in Himachal Pradesh. The state has tapped the UID project at its initial stage and combined it with its own food and civil supplies department project aimed for better delivery of services in future. Along with the eight mandatory questions under the UID project - name, residence, date of birth, photo, all 10 finger prints and iris image - the citizens will now also be asked to provide information about their status on ration cards, PAN cards, LPG connection and bank accounts. This additional information would be used exclusively by the state government for future planning and eliminating duplication in delivery of services by the food and civil supplies and consumer affairs department. The department is the nodal agency for monitoring the UID project in Himachal.

"The officials have already collected the data relating to 33,316 fishermen in 66 villages after conducting an extensive survey in the 10 coastal mandals of the district for issue of tamper-proof ID cards using fingerprinting technology and pooling the information in a centralised database of the centre to better manage the internal security. The ID card comprising details like the name of the fisherman, parents' names, address, educational qualification, ration card number and voter ID card number, would be very be very useful particularly when fishermen were stranded in the high seas at times of natural calamities, he added. In all, 4,190 fishing boats were registered in the district so far as per the Centre's directive, he said."

"t whereas families with Antodaya cards get 35 kg per month, irrespective of the size of the family. The above figure of beneficiaries has been arrived at after weeding out bogus ration cards in a recent drive. "It's a difficult and time consuming process as removing the white card of a genuine beneficiary will undermine the very purpose of the scheme," said Mr B. Harikrishna, deputy director of the civil supplies department. The government is also not waiting to link Aadhaar to all the schemes until the entire population is enrolled. "We are planning to take it up fair price shop-wise. We are identifying beneficiaries yet to be enrolled under every fair price shop and mobilising them to get themselves enrolled," he maintained. By doin"

" Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has given top priority to Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms which include improvement of infrastructure for distribution and storage of PDS food grains. State Governments have been urged to take initiatives to computerize system and adopt best practices of management. Accordingly, States have taken several initiatives. As per information received from the States some of them are as under:"