Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has sanctioned ₹100 crore to install electronic-POS (point of sale) machines at fair price shops to weed out bogus ration cardholders.

At a meeting with Civil Supplies Minister Paritala Sunitha and Commissioner for Civil Supplies Sanjay Jaju, Naidu said 27,176 e-POS machines be set up across the State.

The Aadhar seeding has helped the civil supplies department to weed out 67.45 lakh inactive, duplicate, non-existent and dead units registered under the Public Distribution System (PDS). It is supposed to have saved the State ₹300 crore per year. The e-POS system would help eliminate 10 per cent of additional bogus cardholders. Sanjay Jaju said the department has linked 15 PDS services through Mee Seva and the computerisation of 267 mandal-level stockpoints (MLS) is under progress. So far three lakh Deepam connections have been sanctioned.

Naidu also asked the civil supplies department to consider the possibility of providing iodised salt for free under the PDS. It would cost the Government ₹20 crore every year.

While directing officials to examine the possibility of providing 35 kg of rice for free for 10 lakh beneficiaries under Antyodaya Anna Yojana, Naidu announced that miller could be permitted to sell the existing stock in order to accommodate new arrivals of paddy for the current procurement season.

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