fake ration cards tracked in Rajasthan
fake ration cards tracked in Rajasthan
The state statistics hint at fake ration cards present in various locations.
The state statistics hint at fake ration cards present in various locations.

Rajasthan was among the first five states to install e-PoS (electronic Point of Sales) machines for fair price ration distribution in the state. It’s predecessor states were Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Initially, the government meant to track real-time monitoring and sale of foodgrains at Annapurna Bhandars with the ePoS machines. The idea was to eliminate the loopholes of PDS (Public Distribution System) delivery. However, the government ended up killing two birds with a single stone– establishing a cashless society based on equal distribution of resources and tracking down fake ration card holders that commit frauds.

  • How the ePoS Tracked these Fraudsters?

This month, the ePoS machines installed in 25,000 fair price shops helped authorities identify fraudsters that hold redundant cards. Following this crackdown, the Raje government decided to cancel 11 lakh fake ration cards for good. In last few years, the Centre, as well as the state government has put in intense efforts to eliminate undeserving beneficiaries from the PDS chain. Consequently, about 2.33 crore fake ration card holders have been discovered and blocked since 2013. This resulted in potential savings worth Rs 14,000 crore to the state exchequer.

These ePoS machines enabled fair distribution of Ration throughout the state.
These ePoS machines enabled fair distribution of Ration throughout the state.
  • What is the Government planning next?

According to Principal Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies, Subodh Agarwal, the state government has relaxed the terms and conditions for those fraudsters who haven’t purchased merchandise using fake ration cards in last five months. The authorities have given them time till the end of this month to replace their fake cards with new, authorised ones.

The ePoS system will use Aadhaar enabled ration cards to prevent such frauds in the future.
The ePoS system will use Aadhaar enabled ration cards to prevent such frauds in the future.

In future, the government plans to crush this problem by replacing the ration card transactions with Aadhaar-seeded PDS transactions occurring via e-PoS machines. In short, the authorities will make it mandatory for ration consumers to produce their Aadhaar Card while purchasing subsidised food grains from fair price shops.

As of now, they’re tracking down as to how so many people ended up with fake ration cards in Rajasthan. According to the state records, about 4.2 crore NFSA beneficiaries present in Rajasthan enjoy the benefits of the subsidised ration. This constitutes 69% of the rural population and the 53% of urban population.

e-PoS induced transparency has eliminated the scope for ration card manipulation. In future, more machines will be installed to prevent this issue from rising again.