Smart cards to replace ration cards in Haryana soon

Chandigarh, Aug 29 (UNI) A revised Rs 153.27 crore proposal for replacing the 52 lakh ration cards in Haryana with smart cards under a pilot project is expected to get the Centre's nod soon.

With the implementation of the project, Haryana will become the first state in the country, alongwith Union Territory of Chandigarh, to introduce smart cards for the Public Distribution System (PDS), said a spokesman for Haryana State Electronic Development Corporation (Hartron), the nodal agency for the implementation of the project in the state.

The revised proposal was forwarded to the Central government earlier this month.

According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), prepared by the corporation about 52 lakh eligible families in the state would be issued the smart cards as per their category.

The monthly entitlements of these families would be stored in the card and all the transactions at the Fair Price Shop (FPS) would be performed only on the production of the card by one of the authorised members of the family.

Finger print templates of the authorised members would also be stored in the card to ensure that the transaction happens only in the presence of the beneficiary.

Under the project, all district food and supply offices, fair price shop owners, Confed and FCI centres would be provided with a Smart Transaction Terminal (STT) which would serve as a single integrated device to perform sales transactions.

The device would be capable of authenticating the card and finger print of the consumer. It would also generate receipt of the transaction once successfully performed. The transporters would also be able to transfer stock to the FPS owner only on the production of these cards at the depot.

UNI MA KK BST0414