BENGALURU: As the Seva Sindhu portal has become relatively free after the launch of Gruha Jyothi and Gruha Lakshmi schemes, the process of issuing ‘Shakti Cards’ will start soon and the cards will be valid for lifetime and need no renewal.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told The New Indian Express, “All these days, Seva Sindhu was busy accepting applications for the Gruha Jyothi and Gruha Lakshmi schemes. Under the Shakti scheme, there are nearly three crore beneficiaries and issuing Shakti cards to them is not an easy task. Since the portal has become free now, we will start the process of issuing Shakti cards.”
While Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) MD Anbu Kumar had earlier confirmed to TNIE that Shakti smart cards will be just identity cards, similar to the bus passes issued by the bus corporations, women were worried if they had to renew the cards every year as they do with the regular passes.
“Women beneficiaries need to submit their local domicile, and their photo along with other details and with that Shakti cards will be generated. They need not renew it every year,” Reddy said. A detailed guideline will be issued by the state government this week, he added.
A KSRTC official maintained that though they have the technology to issue ‘smart cards’ where passengers can ‘tap and travel’ while entering and exiting buses, they are not proceeding with it as it will be an additional financial burden on the cash-strapped bus corporations and they may take it up in the future.