FPS Automation - Issues & Challenges Chhattisgarh Experience COREPDS-मेरी मर्ज़ी  A.K.Somasekhar 

What was there before COREPDS? Chhattisgarh computerized the whole PDS supply chain in 2007-08 Increased Transparency ,Accountability, Efficiency

Situation before initiative As a result Leakages and diversion have drastically come down Genuine beneficiary in Chhattisgarh is no doubt, getting her full entitlements. But still there are problems faced by beneficiary at FPS.

Most common problems faced by beneficiary at FPS FPS is not open when the beneficiary wants to take her rations, leading to additional trips. FPS declares 'no stock' even when the FPS has sufficient stocks, leading to additional trips. The sales person does not accord due respect to the beneficiary or sometimes misbehaves.

Most common problems faced by beneficiary at FPS (contd.) Overcharging – The sales person charges more than what is chargeable. Deliberate under-weighment & Adulteration of the commodities by sales person. Beneficiary may need to spend at least half a day to take commodities because of long queues.

Solution to above problems No technology can solve the above problems. But portability can solve the problems. Portability empowers beneficiary to go to an FPS giving better services, there by creating a reason for improvement in service at FPS. Solution is the ‘Beneficiary empowerment’

Power of right to chose Q Why your colony's provision shop-wala shall never ill-treat you? A if he ill-treats you or hurts your ego you will stop going to the shop. Because you have freedom to chose where to purchase he will treat you well.

What COREPDS offers The convenience that technology has given to a bank account holder to withdraw money from any ATM, is being offered to a poor BPL beneficiary in COREPDS

COREPDS Objectives To empower beneficiary To improve Service Delivery To reduce Diversion To weed out Bad FPS To create Transparency

CORE PDS- How it works

Every FPS has a POS device

Smart Ration card for a BPL beneficiary Smart card has no biometrics. Uses KMS supplied by NICHQ

Click to Issue PDS Commodities through SRC 13

14

Inserting Beneficiary’s SRC 15

16

Click if Beneficiary Details are Correct 17

RC Number

RC Number Member Details Beneficiary Food Balances

20

Select Member Enter Quantities 21

Click to Issue 22

Transaction ID, Quantities Issued, Member ID, TransactionDate

Transaction ID, Quantities Issued, Member ID, TransactionDate Success Report

Process Success 25

26

Click to Print Receipt 27

APL Benficiaries They are not given smart cards. They will register mobile numbers They take commodities using OTP

Issue PDS Commodities without SRC There will always be a situation where a small percentage of genuine beneficiaries do not have SRCs because either they could not take in the distribution camps or they have lost and duplicate is not yet been received. This use case is to serve these genuine beneficiaries even with the risk of a few proxy issues. These beneficiaries shall not get the advantage of portability. But can take the commodities from their linked FPS.

RSBY Cards to be used as Ration cards COREPDS uses RSBY smart card as ration card Government of Chhattisgarh has recently decided to universalize RSBY through out Chhattisgarh. COREPDS rolled out in Durg city at 69 FPSs without issuing a separate smart cards, but using RSBY cards as ration cards

COREPDS is readily scalable to Aadhaar authentication

Server RC Number Name Biometric Auth. 14010101240611 Pratap Sahu N Member ID RC Number Name Aadhaar Number 14010101240611 Pratap Sahu NA Preethi Sahu Shivesh Sahu Food A/C Balances

Server RC Number Name Biometric Auth. 14010101240611 Pratap Sahu Y Member ID, RC No., Finger Print RC Number Name Biometric Auth. 14010101240611 Pratap Sahu Y RC Number Name Aadhaar Number 14010101240611 Pratap Sahu 143052789626 Preethi Sahu 327692489563 Shivesh Sahu 165902789985 Food A/C Balances Aadhaar No., Finger Print Y/N

RISKS, CHALLENGES & MITIGATION STRATEGY

Risk 1 Implementation of CORE PDS acts against the interest of many FPS Agencies. It is not wise to assume that FPS will sincerely try to implement CORE PDS

Mitigation Strategy When one FPS says that the POS is not working beneficiary can go to a near by FPS. FPS that can not run COREPDS loses its business to other FPSs. FPS automation without portability as tried in some States is difficult to sustain

Risk 2 In the initial days, all FPSs in an area can form a nexus and see that POSs do not work.

Mitigation Strategy CGSCSC operates mobile FPS .

Mitigation Strategy Whenever a report is received that many FPSs are not working in one area, these trucks will be sent to that area. They serve the beneficiaries in front of the FPSs. Thus, FPSs who do run CORE PDS shall lose their business.

Risk 3 Competition does not help if everyone is bad. FPSs may intentionally do not improve their service to prove that COREPDS is a failure.

Mitigation Strategy Good performers – NGOs, Corporates under their CSR – will be introduced 50 FPS buildings under construction, each costing 10 lakhs They will set benchmark for service

Risk 4 Connectivity is either not available or speed is not sufficient

Mitigation Strategy Connectivity Survey was done. GPRS connectivity is available at 7200 FPSs out of 8000 FPS served. Effective speeds vary from 20 KBPS to 70 KBPS.

Location of FPSs in Raipur

Risk 5 Unreliable connectivity

Mitigation Strategy COREPDS by design is an online system. But it allows a limited offline issues also in case of connectivity failure ( 3 for a beneficiary and 100 for an FPS) Offline records will be uploaded whenever Smart card is inserted in a connected POS device or through FI module

Thoughts for Debate

FPS automation without portability FPS automation without portability creates more inconvenience to the genuine beneficiary

Biometric authentication Waive-off facility Friend families With any other genuine beneficiaries authentication

Portability in Rural areas? Migrated labourers To serve small villages at door steps Social reasons

Weighing Scale integration? Under-weighment is due to disempowerment. Empower the beneficiary. No need to integrate weighing scales with POS device.

Benefits relaised in COREPDS Reduced waiting time at FPS Reduced number of trips to FPS Behavioral change in FPS sales men Weeding out bad FPS Bribe money stopped at the root

Reduction in Diversion Indicator Before COREPDS After CORPDS Remark Sale of BPL Grain 100% 95% Prior to COREPDS, FPSs used to record proxy issues and declare 99 to 100% sale. After introduction of Smart card / OTP authentication the sale figure have reduced. Kerosene 75% APL Grain 80% 50%

Freedom to chose Currently 20% of beneficiaries are using portability. Remaining beneficiaries are taking at their own FPS, but now with their choice not by compulsion. At this context I want to refer Amartya Sen’s quotation which is as follows

From 'Development as Freedom', p 27 "A person produces the same commodities in the same way and ends up with same income and buys the same goods, she may still have very good reason to prefer the scenario of free choice over that of submission to order" Amartya Sen Winner of the nobel prize in economics

What kind of FPS automation? Online system, but should support a limited offline transactions Aadhaar-based Biometric authentication with alternate authentication mechanism RSBY or other Smart cards for quick start without waiting for Aadhaar saturation and to allow for offline transactions

What kind of PDS envisioned? Empowered beneficiary with choice of FPS, choice of commodities and choice to take cash instead of commodities NGOs/ MNC running ‘FPS chain’ treating beneficiary as a valued customer, to capture ‘fortune at the bottom of the pyramid’ Mobile FPS to serve remotest villages at their door steps

Thank You This kind of PDS is not a distant dream with available technology and growing political and burocratic will for improving PDS A.K.Somasekhar som@nic.in, 94252 02643