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On the lines of Digital India initiative , the Congress government in Karnataka is trying to fix the issues in the use of Aadhaar to supply food grains through the Public Distribution System (PDS) by adopting a time-tested Gujarat model of using food coupons.

And, it has worked. A pilot project using this model in Bengaluru that covers the supply of four litres of kerosene a card in hardly 50 shops, is turning out to be a runaway success. According to sources, Karnataka has managed to save Rs 12.16 lakh in one month.

The feedback has been very good and the State will be expanding it to other urban areas shortly before taking it to all rural areas, said Karnataka Food & Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao talking to the press.

The move is driving Karnataka Government’s efforts to weed out bogus ration cards by using the beneficiary’s Aadhaar number to validate genuine ones. About 70 per cent of the 1.08 crore ration card holders in the State have already submitted their Aadhaar numbers and the remaining are expected to be covered by July.

In an effort to weed out fake cards and siphoning from the PDS, at least 11 states have already gone in for supply of food grains against Aadhaar authentication at the ration shops. Andhra Pradesh has already saved Rs.20 crore by using this method in PDS.

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