The rice ATM is designed to streamline the distribution of rice given to eligible ration card holders under PDS. It can dispense up to 25 kg of rice per person.
India’s first ‘rice ATM’ was inaugurated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Thursday.
In a first for India, a rice ATM was inaugurated in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar on Thursday in an effort to streamline the distribution of the staple under the Public Distribution System (PDS). The ‘rice ATM’ machine, has been installed at a warehouse in Mancheswar, and was inaugurated by Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra.
How ‘rice ATM’ works?
The rice ATM is designed to streamline the distribution of rice given to eligible ration card holders under PDS. It can dispense up to 25 kg of rice per person.
In order to use the machine, ration card holders must enter their ration card number on the machine’s touchscreen display and complete biometric verification, following which the ATM will dispense the rice.
The innovative system of rice distribution will provide relief to beneficiaries who longer have to wait in long queues at traditional distribution points. It also aims to curb the menace of theft and black marketing PDS rice.
Service could be extended to other states
“The rice ATM is the first of its kind in India. It was was tested for beneficiaries and launched on a pilot basis in Bhubaneswar. The rice ATM aims to curb black marketing of subsidised rice. This machine will also ensure beneficiaries receive the correct amount of PDS rice without any human agent involved,” Patra said after inaugurating the rice ATM.
The minister said the rice ATM will be initially launched in Bhubaneswar and eventually extended to 30 districts in the state, adding that the model could to expanded to other states as well under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme.
This will allow beneficiaries across different states to access subsidised rations via the automated rice ATM, Patra added.
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