The Assam government will introduce biometric smart cards for beneficiaries in three districts of the state on a pilot basis in order to make the public distribution system more transparent and efficient. Assam food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam today announced that the Centre has cleared a Rs 8-crore proposal submitted by the government to computerise the system in three districts. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries will be issued biometric ration...

Very soon, finger prints would become the key to foodgrains at the public distribution system (PDS) outlets in Jharkhand. Having given its nod to induct about 12 lakh new families in the list of people below the poverty line (BPL), the Jharkhand Government has decided to go in for high-tech mechanism for distribution of foodgrains to the beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) across the state. In keeping with the modules...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave implications for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...

Reports of a possible global food crisis could not have come at a worse time for India. Food inflation is still over 16% and though plentiful rains this year hold out the promise of one of our best agricultural years ever , last week’s warning by the US administration of ‘dramatically’ lower supplies of corn, rice and wheat could force the RBI to tighten more than otherwise warranted in order...

Ten persons, including two Deputy Directors, have been arrested in connection with two scams in the Public Distribution Scheme in Kishtwar and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said on Tuesday. The Crime Branch of Police conducted raids at the premises of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department in Srinagar, Anantnag and Jammu on Monday and arrested the four accused officials in connection with misappropriation of food grains...