Govt to make all ration shops Aadhaar-enabled by June

New Delhi: Government is planning to make all ration shops under the public distribution system in the country Aadhaar-enabled by June 30 this year, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said.

"We will make all 5.58 lakh ration shops Aadhar-enabled by June 30. We are in discussion with Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry for this. Our IT department will work with food and supply department to enable this. We will also request states to come on Aadhaar ecosystem," Prasad told reporters here.

He said that the government is soon going to roll out 20 lakh Aadhaar-enabled point of sales (PoS) machines for delivery of rations.

He said that already all ration cards in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have been made Aadhar-enabled.

"In Gujarat, even payment in ration shops is being made using thumb impression which is linked to Aadhaar," Prasad said.

He said that Rajasthan has reported saving of 14.68 per cent wheat, 20.12 per cent sugar and 39.13 per cent kerosene after implementation of Aadhaar-based ration system.

"We give food subsidy to the tune of Rs 1.2 lakh which, if saved, can be used for welfare schemes," Prasad said.

He also said that the government is working on bringing everyone under the Aadhar system by June 30.

"Everyone has to have Aadhaar by June 30," the Minister said but added that the government will not force it on the people but request those who chose to stay away to come and join the platform.

The Minister said that the government is working on new rules for digital wallets and the draft will be soon placed in public domain for comments.

"Our act will be framed under IT Act. It will take care of consumer interest and cyber security," Prasad said.

He said that a Mission will be set up with a target of 2,500 crore digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhaar Pay, IMPS and debit cards. Banks have targeted to introduce additional 10 lakh new PoS terminals by March.

The Minister said that government has plans to establish 1,000 'Digigaon' in one year under which telemedicine, tele-health and wi-fi serivces will be provided to the villages identified under the scheme.