The food and civil supplies department is set to begin quarterly wheat distribution for ration beneficiaries from May 22, with officials claiming that new verification measures and the roll out of
the ‘mera ration’ app will help avoid the large-scale glitches that disrupted distribution for thousands of beneficiaries last year.
According to officials, the district has around 4.40 lakh ration cards, and nearly 22,000 metric tonnes of wheat is expected to be distributed during the three-month cycle.
Officials said each ration card holder would receive one ration kit under the distribution process, which is likely to continue till June 30.
Last year, the ration distribution process was hit by repeated technical glitches linked to incomplete e-KYC verification, biometric mismatches, and Aadhaar authentication failures. Officials estimate that nearly 5% to 7% beneficiaries could not receive subsidised wheat during the previous cycle because of verification issues.
The problem was particularly severe among child beneficiaries, officials said. In many cases, biometric records of children are automatically updated after the age of five, but the updated data was not immediately reflected in the department’s system, resulting in authentication failures and denial of ration.
To address the issue this year, the department is allowing multiple modes of verification. Officials clarified that possessing the new QR-based ration card is not mandatory for collecting wheat, as beneficiaries can also authenticate themselves through Aadhaar-based biometric verification.
{{/usCountry}}To address the issue this year, the department is allowing multiple modes of verification. Officials clarified that possessing the new QR-based ration card is not mandatory for collecting wheat, as beneficiaries can also authenticate themselves through Aadhaar-based biometric verification.
{{/usCountry}}In addition, the department has started encouraging beneficiaries to complete face authentication through the ‘mera ration’ mobile application, introduced earlier this year. Under the process, beneficiaries can complete e-KYC by scanning their face through the registered mobile number, reducing dependence on fingerprint-based authentication.
District food and supplies officer (west) Sartaj Singh Cheema said the department has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth distribution this time.
“We have already supplied a majority of the ration cards to depot holders, and instructions have been issued to ensure there is no inconvenience to beneficiaries. Multiple verification options, including biometric authentication and face e-KYC through the mera ration app, have been enabled so that eligible families do not miss out on wheat distribution due to technical issues,” Cheema said.
Officials said special monitoring would also be carried out at depots during the distribution period to immediately resolve complaints related to e-KYC failures and authentication issues.
The department hopes the strengthened verification mechanism will prevent a repeat of last year’s situation, when thousands of beneficiaries struggled to access subsidised wheat because of unresolved e-KYC discrepancies.