BENGALURU: This new year could bring a huge relief for lakhs of Above Poverty Line (APL) families who have lost hopes of getting a ration card due to the cumbersome administrative processes involved. Getting an APL ration card could just be a click away at the street corner cyber cafe.
In a major initiative to make distribution of ration cards more people-friendly, Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader announced on Wednesday that the new system would be introduced in the first week of January.
Instead of producing multiple documents, just your Aadhaar card would be enough to apply for an APL ration card online through cyber centres registered with the department. “The applicants would be able to get a print out of their temporary APL ration card instantly and get the permanent card delivered to their door step within five days. The applicants would be charged a fee of `100,” Khader said.
The software and other systems to launch the programme is getting final touches and the representatives of the registered cyber centres would be trained soon.
Cash coupons for ration
The department is also bringing changes in its ration coupon system to make it more convenient for consumers. A pilot programme would be launched in January or February to issue cash coupons instead of ration coupons which could be used to purchase ration from even designated retail stores apart from the usual fair price shops. The programme would be launched in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru to start with. Dal too would be distributed though PDS shops at 50 per cent subisidsed price from January.