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Digital Inclusion, E-Government

TPDS to be computerised

By Anshupriya Jha | 25 August 2011

In a bid to promote transparency and improve efficiency, the government has decided to computerise the entire Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in a phased manner.

One of the most important programmes of the Indian government, TPDS covers over 65 million poor families across the country. With a network of about half a million Fair Price Shops (FPSs), it is perhaps the largest public food distribution network in the world.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, “In the first phase, the scheme on computerization of TPDS operations had been approved to be implemented on pilot basis in three districts each of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.”

As a pilot, Gujarat, Haryana and Chandigarh were to replace ration cards allocated under the TPDS with smart cards to ensure transparency and ward off complaints of any anomalies.

He added that the government is also looking at using technologies such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) and Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) for curbing leakages in the system. Here too, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh have installed GPS in vehicles carrying commodities meant for distribution under TPDS on a pilot basis.

Bihar recently joined the bandwagon and installed GPS devices to track the movement of food grains. The GPS devices send real time information of the route taken by the vehicle. It helps in catching the data points of the planned journey and deviations, if any. For now, the State is doing it for vehicles in Bodh Gaya district.

Adding another feather to its cap, Bihar’s Consumer Protection Minister Shyam Rajak also launched www.pdsonline.in, a web portal for tracking the allocation, movement, distribution, thefts and grievances in real time.

Citizens can register any complaint related to the PDS on the website and the system will keep the complainant in the loop through SMS alerts on the progress of the complaint and if any action has been taken. This will make the system transparent and accountable.

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