Hyderabad: The Telangana Civil Supplies Department has successfully completed the toughest IT Project any Government Department could attempt -ePos in all the 17,000 Fair Price Shops in Telangana. That, over the last 10 months, the IT team, the district level officers like Joint Collector, District and Assistant Civil Supplies Officers, DTs, the System Integrator Oasys have fanned out to the remotest areas of the State, and have been able to connect them to the NIC and UIDAI servers and transmit Finger Print Biometric Data.
• They have overcome opposition of dealers, politicians, sometimes beneficiaries and completed the project.
• ePos helped in distribution of ration commodities to the real beneficiaries and the return of the surplus to the government with correct weight measures.
• This system is successful in putting barriers on black marketing of commodities meant for Public Distribution System and the misbehavior of FP Shops Dealers.
1) Chronology of Roll Out
• In 2016 March it was started as a pilot project by introducing in 1545 ration shops in Greater Hyderabad Zone.
• Initially this system was effective by recognizing finger prints of the beneficiaries for distributing commodities. In the view of increasing cashless transactions, Civil Supplies Department made changes in the machine, with better performance and at low cost for the State wide project.
• In addition to ePos:
• Android machine with 4 inch screen.
• Iris Scanner
• Weighing Machine to be operated by blue tooth
• Card Swiping Facility.
• Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS)
• Audio Voice Over
are added to the machine.
• In some cases to overcome the difficulty in biometric system where finger prints are worn newly installed Iris scanner, and in keeping view of people living in villages Voice Over Player system are introduced.
• Centre for Good Governance (CGG) established a tender committee, with Commissioner for Civil Supplies Department Sri C.V. Anand as its Chairman. In this committee Finance, IT Department Secretaries, TSTS Managing Director, Hyderabad Chief Rationing Officer (CRO), National Informatics Centre (NIC) Director and others at its members.
• This committee started its work on 22nd August, 2016 and completed it in five months. Three companies submitted tenders for this project, out of which Chennai bases Oasis Cybernetics Pvt. Ltd. acquired the tender to implement ePos machines with Rs. 1499 rent per month for each machine.
• These new machines were firstly introduced in 800 ration shops in Mahabubnagar district in April, 2017. On the successful implementation of the system it was introduced in all the ration shops, statewide in span of 10 months period phase wise. About 3 to 4 districts were covered in each phase.
2) Irregularities controlled:
• Prior to this, before the implementation of ePos system, Ration Dealers, Traders supported each other in black marketing PDS rice. Even without giving rice to the beneficiaries it was recorded that the rice was delivered to them. Some dealers used to issue less quantity to the beneficiaries and sell rice in open market for higher price,
• Every ration shop used to have bogus cards.
• Number of Benami dealers where active.
• With the introduction of ePos machines the misbehaviour & indiscipline of F.P.Shop Dealers is fully controlled.
• Issuing commodities to the beneficiaries by recognizing their finger prints in Biometric machines, by large extent irregularities have decreased. It also stopped in commodity loss and loss in weight. Transparency in distribution is attained.
3) How ePos functions
• ePos Functioning…
ePos machine with display board, keypad are incorporated to weighing machine. Finger prints of beneficiaries and ration dealers are collected and saved in the machine. Aadhar cards of beneficiaries are linked to the machine. Commodities are supplied to the beneficiary with a print copy of the details. This all transactions are done online. Commodities are rendered to anyone of the family member of beneficiary, who’s finger print and adhar card are linked to the ePos machine. These details are registered to the main server at Civil Supplies Head Office time to time. In case commodities are surplus immediately it will come to notice. Dealers irregularities will be prevented and bogus cards can be recognized.
4) Difficulties of connectivity of the Project:
• Since the ePos project is based on connectivity and strength of signals, lot of difficulty was faced while installing ePos machines and weighing scales in areas where there were less signals.
• The IT teams were carrying Sim Cards of all companies like Airtel, BSNL, Idea, Vodafone and Jio during training and installation and used whichever network gave signals.
• The procedure followed was to have district level trainings, then Mandal level practical trainings and then hands on training in each shop in a month and then ‘Go Live’ from the 1st of the following month.
• The first month of roll out was tough in every district. The ePos machine had to be activated, it had to be synched via blue tooth to the weighing scale; signals had to be strong enough for transmission of biometric data.
• After roll out in the entire State, only 212 FP Shops are found to not have any signals at all, are in totally remote areas ie. only 1.25% of 17,000 Shops, which as the District wise break up is as follows:
Abstract of No. of FPSs functioning in the State as on 19.02.2018 | |||||
Sr.No | District | Total shops | Opened | No network FPS | Week Signal FPS |
1 | Adilabad | 355 | 306 | 39 | 10 |
2 | Bhadrdri Kothagudem | 442 | 424 | 18 | |
3 | Hyderabad | 716 | 716 | 0 | |
4 | Jagityal | 586 | 586 | 0 | |
5 | Janagaon | 355 | 355 | 0 | |
6 | Jayashankar Bhupalpalli | 499 | 488 | 11 | |
7 | Jogulamba Gadwal | 333 | 333 | 0 | |
8 | Kamareddy | 577 | 575 | 0 | 2 |
9 | Karimnagar | 487 | 487 | 0 | |
10 | Khammam | 669 | 663 | 6 | |
11 | Kumarambheem Asifabad | 275 | 221 | 41 | 13 |
12 | Mahabubabad | 553 | 538 | 15 | |
13 | Mahbubnagar | 805 | 805 | 0 | |
14 | Manchiryala | 423 | 416 | 7 | |
15 | Medak | 520 | 520 | 0 | |
16 | Medchal | 636 | 636 | 0 | |
17 | Nagarkarnool | 553 | 548 | 5 | |
18 | Nalgonda | 990 | 968 | 22 | |
19 | Nirmal | 390 | 374 | 16 | |
20 | Nizamabad | 751 | 751 | 0 | |
21 | Peddapalli | 413 | 413 | 0 | |
22 | Rajanna Siricilla | 344 | 344 | 0 | |
23 | Ranga Reddy | 920 | 913 | 4 | 3 |
24 | Sangareddy | 845 | 845 | 0 | |
25 | Siddipet | 680 | 680 | 0 | |
26 | Suryapet | 609 | 609 | 0 | |
27 | Vikarabad | 588 | 588 | 0 | |
28 | Wanaparthy | 325 | 325 | 0 | |
29 | Warangal | 460 | 460 | 0 | |
30 | Warangal Rural | 464 | 464 | 0 | |
31 | Yadadri Bhuvanagiri | 461 | 461 | 0 | |
TOTAL | 17024 | 16812 | 184 | 28 | |
Grand Total | 212 |
• in these shops, it is decided that ‘Off line’mode will be used to distribute ration. Ie., finger prints will be recorded for distribution of ration and will be uploaded at the end of the day from the place where signals are available, on to the ePos Portal.
• Not a single genuine beneficiary will be denied his/her ration.
5) Savings Mode:
With the implementation of this system ineligible are fearing to enter ration shops. To large extent of PDS rice is saved in every district. Every month up to 10 to 15 % beneficiaries are not coming to ration shops. At an average 15% PDS rice is surplus and great extent of public wealth is saved.
• After Telangana government came every individual eligible beneficiary in the family monthly attains 6kg of rice at Rs. 1 per kg. Statewide 85 lakh families are been distributed PDS rice, for this Civil Supplies Department is supplying 1.75 lakh metric tons of rice.
• After the introduction of ePos system every month surplus of 20 Thousand metric tons of rice is saved.
• For distributing rice at Rs. 1 per kg government is spending Rs. 27 per kg, i.e. government is bearing subsidy of Rs. 26 per kg.
• In 23 months, i.e. from introduction to till this month 4.20 crores transactions are carried. Rs. 578.90 Crores value of 2,15,759 metric tons of rice is saved to government.
• By implementation of ePos system statewide, Rs. 800 to Rs. 850 Crores will be saved to government expected every year.
• For public distribution Civil Supplies Department purchase 6 lakh metric tons of rice from millers.
• With effect of ePos system introduction of nearly 2.5 lakh metric tons of rice would be saved. In this case only four lakh metric tons of rice may be purchased from millers every year.
6) Reforms in PDS and Ration Shop System:
1) Online Viewing and live Transactions:
Reforms are introduced in ration shops by implementing ePos system, for providing better service to the beneficiaries.
• Provisions are made to Civil Supplies Department officials to view every transaction at statewide ration shops.
• In which shop, when, how may, how much ration is taken, fresh stock position, commodity allocation, portability transactions, how many of VRO’s authenticated etc., will all be monitored by chief officers from Civil Supplies Department office. In district level DCSO’s, ACSO’s can monitor.
2) Portability (Can take Ration anywhere):
• Ration Portability – beneficiaries availing ration commodities from anywhere system is expanded to 31st districts. With ration portability available beneficiaries can get commodities from any ration shop in their respective districts.
• From March 1st Portability system will be implemented in each of the 30 districts
• For offering better services to the beneficiaries portability system was introduced in June 2017 in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medhcal districts.
• In Greater Hyderabad zone during this eight month i.e. between June 2017 and January 2018 total 26,65,631 transactions are done in which 12,26,833 transactions where done through ration portability.
• Impact is very severe on the ration dealers who are indiscipline, arrogant and not maintaining time table.
• As beneficiaries are availing commodities from the ration shops of their choice, serious competition is established between rations dealers.
• The dealers who are reliable and genuinely maintaining the time table are doing good business and those are not are gradually losing to great extent.
• After running Portability in each district for two months State wide Portability will be implemented after stabilisation. i.e. a beneficiary can take his / her ration anywhere in the State.
3) Distribution of Ration Commodities between 1st to 15th of every month
• Till now, ration is being distributed even till 25th or 30th of the month.
• From now on, 1st to 15th of every month commodities will be distributed at Ration shops. There will be no Holiday for ration shops.
• In Greater Hyderabad zone, every Friday is holiday for Ration Shops. With the determination of distributing commodities before 15th of every month, Friday holiday is cancelled.
• From March 1st onwards this will come is to effect. For this implementation, changes are made in transporting dates, Closing Balance (CB), DKR generation and Release Order (RO).
• On 16th commodities will be provided to districts from Civil Supplies Head Office.
• For this ration dealers have to pay DD’s between 16th & 18th at Mee Seva Centres. Regional ACSO’s / MRO’s will immediately issue Release Orders of the Dealers who paid DD’s to the Mandal Level Stockist (MLS) Point.
• As soon as godown incharge receives release order commodity distribution will start. Stage-II transporters will deliver stock from MLS points to ration shops from 16th to 30th of every month.
• From 1st, all 17000 shops should start ration distribution.
4) Ration information Mobile Phones:
• Information about ration commodities is made available to the beneficiaries through SMS to their mobile phones.
• Beneficiary will receive and SMS alert as soon as commodities are transported to ration shops from godown. Beneficiaries can take the goods available according to the message. 70% of mobile phone numbers of beneficiaries are acquired and SMS alerts are sent to them. Next month onwards SMS alerts will be sent to all the beneficiaries.
5) Measures to remove weight loss
Several complaints from dealers of weight loss of 1 to 2 Kgs every bag coming from Mandal Level Stockist (MLS) point. Special steps are taken to tackle the issue. Efforts will be taken to supply with 100% weight to dealers from godown.
For this…
• CC cameras at Godowns.
• Establishing Big Weighing Machine of capacity of 1000 tons.
• Two CC cameras will inspect Weighing machines.
• One camera will keep check on staff operations, and on any outside vehicle entering into the godown premises.
• GPS to Stage 1 and Stage 2 vehicles.