1. FPS Automation - Issues & Challenges Chhattisgarh Experience
COREPDS-मेरी मर्ज़ी 

2. What was there before COREPDS?
Chhattisgarh computerized the whole PDS supply chain in
Increased Transparency ,Accountability, Efficiency

3. 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.

4. 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.

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

6. 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’

7. 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.

8. 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

9. Ten Reasons to change my FPS (from an informal talk with beneficiaries)

10. Reason - 1
इस दुकान के सामान में कंकड ज्यादा रहता है| बुवा बोलती है, उनका दुकानवाला अच्छा चावल देता है| क्या करूँ मेरा इस दुकान से पाला पड़ा है|

11. Reason - 2
मैं किराये से रहती हूँ, मैंने घर बदल दिया, अब मेरी दुकान 10 कि.मी. दूर है| दुकान बदलवाने के लिए कौन कलेक्टर कार्यालय का चक्कर काटेगा? मुझे उतनी दूर जाके ही सामान लेना पडता है|

12. Reason - 3
मेरा दुकान वाला कम तौलता है, मेरी पड़ोसन बोलती है, उनकी दुकान वाला तो ठीक देता है, क्या करूँ मैं दुकान तो बदल नहीं सकती हूँ|

13. Reason - 4
मैं जब कभी दुकान जाती हूँ, वह बंद रहती है| कम से कम बार तो जाना ही पड़ता है सामान लेने|

14. Reason - 5
मैं 18 साल की लडकी हूँ| वह लडका जो दुकान में बैठता है वो मुझे घूरता रहता है, मुझे अच्छा नहीं लगता है| लेकिन क्या करूँ, मुझे 2 रू. किलो में चावल उसी दुकान से मिलता है|

15. Reason - 6
वर्षों से हमारे परिवारोँ के बीच अच्छे संबंध नहीं हैं, लेकिन वही परिवार दुकान चलता है| मुझको हर महीने भिखारी जैसे 2 रू. किलो चावल के लिए उनके सामने हाथ फैलाना पडता है| काश मैं कोई दूसरे दुकान जा सकती|

16. Reason - 7
इस दुकान में सामान लेने के लिए पूरा दिन लग जाता है| बगल वाली दुकान खाली रहता है, क्या मैं उधर से सामान नहीं ले सकती हूँ?

17. Reason - 8
मेरा दुकान वाला चिल्लर वापस ही नहीं करता 2, 4 रूपया तो ज्यादा ले ही लेता है|

18. Reason - 9
मेरा दुकान वाला एक सामान एक बार देता है, मुझे पाँच बार दुकान जाना पडता है पाँच सामान लेने के लिए| सुनती हूँ की कुछ दुकान वाले सभी सामान एक ही बार में ही देते|

19. Reason - 10
अगर मेरे पास दुकान को चुनने का हक होता तो राशन दुकानदार भी मेरे साथ सम्मानजनक व्यवहार करता और मुझे भी गर्व होता|

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

21. CORE PDS- How it works

22. Every FPS has a POS device

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

24. Click to Issue PDS Commodities through SRC24

25. 25

26. 26

27. Inserting Beneficiary’s SRC27

28. 28

29. Click if Beneficiary Details are Correct29

30. RC Number

31. RC Number
Member Details
Beneficiary Food Balances

32. 32

33. Select Member
Enter Quantities 33

34. Click to Issue 34

35. Transaction ID, Quantities Issued,
Member ID,
TransactionDate

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

37. Process Success 37

38. 38

39. Click to Print Receipt 39

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

42. 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.

43. 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

44. COREPDS is readily scalable to Aadhaar authentication

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

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

48. RISKS, CHALLENGES & MITIGATION STRATEGY

49. 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

50. 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

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

52. Mitigation Strategy
CGSCSC operates mobile FPS .

53. 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.

54. 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.

55. 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

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

57. Mitigation Strategy
Connectivity Survey was done. GPRS connectivity is available at all the 175 FPSs. Effective speeds vary from 20 KBPS to 70 KBPS.

58. Location of FPS’ in Raipur

59. Risk 5
Unreliable connectivity

60. 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

61. Thoughts for Debate

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

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

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

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

66. 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

67. 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%

68. Freedom to chose
Currently 18% 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

69. From 'Development as Freedom', p 27
"A person produces the same commodities in the same ay 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 noble prize in economics

70. 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

71. What kind of PDS envisioned?
Empowered beneficiary
with choice of FPS,
choice of commodities
and choice to take cash in stead 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

72. Thank You
This kind of PDS is not a distant dream with available technology and growing political and burocratic will for improving PDS