HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is all set to distribute new ration cards to beneficiaries at a public meeting to be organised at Tirumalagiri in Thungathurthy Assembly constituency in the erstwhile Nalgonda district on July 14.
The CM will also be handing over model ration cards — smart cards with secured QR codes — to the beneficiaries.
The event, which marks the start of the state government’s plan to issue 4.43 lakh ration cards in the 2025 calendar year, assumes significance as local body elections are around the corner. During the public meeting, new smart cards with added security features, which are expected to revolutionise the public distribution system, will be showcased.
“The smart cards will store all sensitive information related to beneficiaries, including identification data. The QR code is tamper-proof and cannot be duplicated,” said an official of the Civil Supplies department.
Between January 26 and June 27, the Civil Supplies department issued a total of 4,43,607 new ration cards and made 17,55,188 authorised member additions, expanding the coverage to 41,11,349 new beneficiaries. This brings the total number of beneficiaries under the state’s PDS system to over 2.8 crore. While the government plans to roll out physical smart cards soon, the process has been delayed due to a high court stay on the tender for printing the cards.
However, if the stay is lifted before the public meeting, Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and its Principal Secretary DS Chauhan are preparing to issue the physical smart cards to beneficiaries.
In addition to ration card distribution, the chief minister is expected to highlight the state’s achievement of providing superior quality rice through the PDS. As of June, the government had successfully distributed superfine rice to approximately 84% of the state’s population. In the same month, the Civil Supplies department allocated a total of 5,72,247.53 metric tonnes of rice for distribution across the state.