Tripura to replace ration books with smart cards

AGARTALA: The Tripura government plans to replace paper-made ration books with smart cards for converting the public distribution system (PDS) into digital mode to bring in more transparency, food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Thursday.
Tripura has introduced biometric-based PDS disbursement for the first time in 2018 after BJP came to power.During digitisation, 62,173 fake ration cards were detected under the possession of around 2.81 lakh people, who had been withdrawing PDS items for a long time.
The government has decided to distribute 9.59 lakh smart cards, transform 765 ‘model’ ration shops, and set up Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Corporation under the department to make the system commercially feasible. Ration dealers and their family members would be brought under the coverage of health insurance, he said.