Unique Identification to make public distribution easier: Nilekani

New Delhi, July 13 (ANI): Unique Identification Authority of India (UID) Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday said food supply through unique identification numbers will make distribution of food more transparent and will lead to a change in the paradigm of the supply chain.

Speaking at a conference of Food Secretaries here, Nilekani said the project 'Aadhaar' would work on the transparency of public distribution and authentication of fair price shops in the country.

"I am really looking forward to all the Public Distribution system (PDS) implementations going forward using 'Aadhaar' for identity and de-duplication. I think you have already done a great deal of work on the Management Information system (MIS) side and we can do a lot more on the Aadhaar," said Nilekani.

"I would like you to start applying your mind is can we use this for authentication at the fair price shop and can we go from today's supply side, non-portable, non-choice model to a demand led portable model where the supply coming to a fair price shop is only based on withdrawals," he added.

The UID Chairman further said the project will add value to the system and will bring necessary changes to the supply system.

"Aadhaar can add value in de-duplication but also in changing the whole paradigm of the supply chain," said Nilekani.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was also present on the occasion, said the project would prevent any leakage and the smart cards will also enable to transform the old system of distribution.

"It is the complete elimination of the leakage, which to my mind is the major improvement in the PDS that Nandan was talking about. So unique ID combined with smart card essentially enables you to transform the system," said Ahluwalia. (ANI)