Smart Ration Card an initiative of the Kerela Government

Introduction:

Ration cards are official documents issued by state governments that enable a household to gain subsidized food grains from the Public Distribution System (PDS) under the National Food Security Act[1] (NFSA)[2]. PDS is one of the food security initiatives of the Govt. of India where the government-sponsored chain of shops distribute basic food and non-food commodities to the needy sections of the society at a very cheap rate[3]. The first food security measures in the form of PDS especially took place during World War II (pre-colonial times) as wartime rations. Before 1939, colonial India did not have a concrete food distribution policy in place and much of the food given in rations depended on foreign imports. The country was in such a miserable condition that the food-deficit alone caused 1.5 to 3 million casualties in the 1942-1943 Bengal famine[4].

In 1965, a food security system in the form of PDS was formulated with the creation of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) whose task was to purchase food and non-food items from the private dealers and distribute them at lesser rates (subsidized rates) by way of Fair Price Shops (FPS) or in simple terms known as the ration shops. Initially, the distribution of edible and no-edible commodities through PDS was universal and equal for all the beneficiaries but due to widespread corruption, categorization of the beneficiaries was introduced. In 1997, PDS subsidy became target-oriented towards the BPL (Below Poverty Line) and in 2000, under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), the “poorest of the poor” were taken into consideration.

The NFSA mandates the State Government to point out the concerned households that are eligible for purchasing food grains at subsidized rates through PDS and issue them ration cards. NFSA issues two kinds of ration cards, namely:

1. Priority Household (PHH) ration cards – for those households that are proved eligible to avail benefit under the criteria set by the state government and each household is allotted 5 kilogram (kg) of food grain per member per month.
2. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration cards – is issued to the “poorest of the poor” households where each household is 35 kg of food grain per month.

Before 2013, there were three types of ration cards in place. They are:

1. Above Poverty Line (APL) ration cards were issued to the households living above the poverty line as per the Planning Commission where each household was allotted 15 kg of food grain.
2. Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards were issued to the households living below the poverty line where each household was allotted 25 to 35 kg of food grain.
3. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration cards.

The distribution of food grains through PDS goes through three phases:

In the 1^st phase, the commodity is purchased by the FCI and kept for storing in godowns (called supplier’s godowns) and redistributed among various wholesale points known as Authorized Wholesale Dealers (AWDs) spread across the country. In the 2^nd phase, the commodities are then taken by the Authorized Retail Dealers (ARDs) from the wholesale points. These AWDs are the owners of the ration shops who are allocated goods based on the number of registered households. The 3^rd  phase sees the beneficiaries purchasing the commodities in the ration shops at subsidized rates on monthly basis.

Though the aim of PDS is laudable, it has been criticized for lack of transparency and accountable delivery as well as its inability to effectively serve the poorer population[5].

Smart Ration Cards

There are various challenges faced by beneficiaries in procuring food grains through PDS in the form of the ration shops being closed when the beneficiary has to purchase the rations, ration dealers insisting that they are out of stock (most of the commodities are sold by them illegally in the commercial market to earn a profit), the beneficiary is charged above the fixed price of the commodity, it is intentional under weighing of the commodity and the issuance of fake ration cards by the ration dealers to those who are not qualified to avail such benefit. In order to ensure that the benefits of PDS through ration cards are given to the targeted beneficiaries, state governments are now adopting Smart Ration Cards. It’s working is similar to that of a credit card.

The smart card is modified as a smart ration card by coding the microprocessor chip present in it according to the requirements[6]. Each smart ration cards are embedded with a unique bar code. To make an up-gradation to smart ration cards, important data is collected from valid ration card holders or beneficiaries, and accordingly, an estimation is made of the total number of smart ration cards to be made. All the collected data of the ration card users are stored in a database which contains information related to the number of family members, name of the family members, head of the family, permanent address etc[7]. Units or points in form of credits are issued to each ration cardholder by the state government every month.

After the issuance of the smart ration card, the beneficiary receives the commodity after verification in the FPS. It is verified with the help of a bar code inserted for each such card. In the FPS, respective codes of items that are to be bought are shown to the customer. The database stores the code of the item, the quantity of the item and the amount purchased by the beneficiary, and the overall calculation. For eg: the code of rice is 002 (which means 002 = 5 credits) and the quantity of rice purchased is 2 kg, then the amount related to rice will be 5*2=10 credits[8].

As the bill is generated after the purchase, the dealer swipes the smart ration card in the swipe machine, enters the pin, and then automatically the number of credits shown in the bill are subtracted from the smart ration card. Finally, the customer can leave the shop with the required items and the generated bill. Some states have already put smart ration card system into application and one such state is Kerala.

Computerization of Ration Cards in Kerala

Before 1997, Kerala was widely recognized as operating one of the best PDS programs in India[9]. This was very relevant in a state whose food-deficit situation, per se, would put people’s nutritional security in peril: Kerala depends on neighboring states for 85% of its food requirements[10] and this necessitates the existence of an efficient food security program. Since independence, the imperative of redistribution constituted a key pillar of Kerala politics, and this led governments to take the PDS very seriously: furthermore, starting from 1965, ration shops were supervised by People’s Food Committees, which would closely control the accountability of local retailers[11]. The combination of governmental care and people’s participation was instrumental in the success of the universal distribution system[12].

Beginning in 2001, Kerala became the first state to go for the digitalization of the PDS, replacing the traditional printed ration cards[13] with smart ration cards. The ward members were delegated with the function to collect information of the ration card holders from door to door and the information collected was stored in a central database, for digitization of ration cards[14]. The Taluk Supply Offices (TSOs) are the administrative offices of the PDS in the state where the details of all the cardholders can be availed, verified, and modified[15]. The digitalized PDS works through Targeted, Efficient, Transparent Rationing and Allocation Public Distribution System (TETRAPDS) whose functioning can be explained under four modules :

1^st Module: Ration Card, Management System (RCMS) is a workflow-based application for requesting ration cards and for modifying existing ones as per citizen’s requests[16]. The application received are verified by the rationing inspectors and are sent to the TSO for approval. Applications are normally given in Akshaya centers spread throughout the state. Under RCMS, it is guaranteed that PDS beneficiaries in actuality avail the benefits of the PDS in the ration shops. Presently, attempts are made to merge RCMES with the Aadhar database to further ease the purchase of subsidized goods from ration shops. The customer will only be required to insert his fingerprints into point-of-scale machines that would be installed in ration shops.

2^nd Module: Allocation 2.0, an application that will allocate subsidized items among the ration dealers of the state. Through this application, the TSOs can make an estimation of the commodities to be allocated to each dealer in their taluks. Allocation 2.0 uses the cardholder database containing the details of the number of registered households under each FPS, the quantity of commodity allocated to each such shop etc.

3^rd Module: Inspection Monitoring System, is a database that registers for each taluk, the inspections conducted, the irregularities detected and the action taken in cases of illicit conduct[17]. 

4^th Module: Provides a web forum for interaction of the State Food and Civil Supply Department with smart ration cardholders. The beneficiaries can apply for a new ration card, lodge complaints, and receive details about the PDS commodities lifted at the state level[18].

The Kerala Government has lately started integrating RCMS with Aadhar cards and consequently, trials are being conducted in six FPS at Thiruvananthapuram district. The trial includes the use of point-of-sale machines which are set up in the ration shops, which verify Aadhar- registered citizens with the help of their fingerprints. The prime reason for linking Aadhar cards as noted by the Justice Wadhwa Committee on Public Distribution System (2010) is the high prevalence of bogus ration cards, utilized to divert goods outside the PDS to generate profits[19] . 

Conclusion

Although, the reforms brought by the Kerala government through the digitalization of ration cards are laudable but the it’s effective application on the ground level establishes its success. The smart ration cards not only requires registered users but it also requires effective service providers to deal with the day to day queries of the people. Various other state governments like Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, etc. have also started upgrading their ration cards to smart ration cards in an effort to put a check on illegal sales in the open markets, fake ration cards and to ensure that the benefits of PDS reach the respective beneficiaries. 

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References:

[1] National Food Security Act came into force in 2013 with an aim to provide subsidized food grains to protect the right to food and ensure the right to live with dignity.

[2]Types of Ration Cards, BANK BAZAAR.COM, (Jan 8, 2021, 08:07 PM), https://www.bankbazaar.com/ration-card/types-of-ration-card.html.

[3] Definition of ‘Public Distribution System’, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, (Jan 8, 2021, 08:10 PM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/public-distribution-system.

[4] Jos Mooiji,Food policy and politics: The political economy of the Public Distribution System in India, 25(2) The Journal of Peasant Studies, 77, 79-81 (1998).

[5] Planning Commission of India (2008).

[6] Vikram Singh, Smart Ration Card, 4 JGRCS 172, 172 (2013).

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Suryanarayana, Economic Reform vs Food Security : Kerala’s Gordian Knot , 13(2) Journal of International Development, 239-253 (2001).

[10] Justice Wadhwa Committee on Public Distribution System (2010).

[11] Supra note 4.

[12] Dr. Silvia Masiero, Redesigning the Indian Food Security System through E-Governance: The Case of Kerala, (Oct 20, 2014).

[13] Smart Ration Cards launched in Kerala, TOI, Jan 21, 2002.

[14] Supra note 12.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Supra note 12.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Ibid.