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

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

10. CORE PDS- How it works

11. Every FPS has a POS device

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

13. Click to Issue PDS Commodities through SRC13

14. 14

15. Inserting Beneficiary’s SRC15

16. 16

17. Click if Beneficiary Details are Correct17

18. RC Number

19. RC Number
Member Details
Beneficiary Food Balances

20. 20

21. Select Member
Enter Quantities 21

22. Click to Issue 22

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

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

25. Process Success 25

26. 26

27. Click to Print Receipt 27

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

30. 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.

31. 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

32. COREPDS is readily scalable to Aadhaar authentication

33. 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

34. 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

36. RISKS, CHALLENGES & MITIGATION STRATEGY

37. 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

38. 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

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

40. Mitigation Strategy
CGSCSC operates mobile FPS .

41. 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.

42. 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.

43. 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

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

45. 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.

46. Location of FPSs in Raipur

47. Risk 5
Unreliable connectivity

48. 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

49. Thoughts for Debate

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

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

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

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

54. 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

55. 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%

56. 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

57. 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

58. 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

59. 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

60. 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