3.64 Lakh Tonnes Of Food Grains; That’s How Much Maharashtra Saved After Linking Aadhaar With PDS

Validating the success of linking the Aadhaar to the public distribution system (PDS) in Maharashtra, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Girish Bapat said that the state had managed to save 3.64 lakh metric tonnes of grains by linking the Aadhaar to ration cards, reports DNA. This will now allow 99 lakh more beneficiaries to be added to the PDS.

The state government has supplied Aadhaar-enabled point-of-sale (POS) devices to 55 lakh fair-price and ration shops and has completed 96.62 per cent Aadhaar seeding.

Bapat stated that earlier there used to be irregularities in distribution of rations, and 10 lakh bogus beneficiaries were deleted after inspections. Of these beneficiaries, several were deceased, several had their names in multiple places and some were non-existent after physical visits were made.

Ration-card holders in Maharashtra would now have to link their Aadhaar and complete the know your customer (KYC) procedure in order to avail of PDS benefits.

Post the deployment of the Aadhaar-enabled PDS (AEPDS), the state now saves 3.64 lak MT of grains. It has witnessed savings of Rs 4,200 crore in 2017-18 which translates to 30 per cent of the total turnover of Rs 14,000 crore per year.