Public Distribution System - Chhattisgarh Case Study

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Public Distribution System - Chhattisgarh Case
Study

• BPR Technology in PDS
• A.K.Somasekhar
• Technical Director, NIC

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PDS in Chhattisgarh

• 40 Lakh poor families receive 35Kg rice and
  other essential commodities through 10,900 Fair
  Price Shops at highly subsidized rate of Rs 2/-
  and Rs 1/-

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Problem Areas Addressed

• Delay in monthly allocation
• Delay in lifting and transportation
• Diversion/leakages
• Fake ration cards
• Lack of accountability at all levels
• Lack of community participation
• Lack of transparency

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Solution

• Technology along with necessary Business
  Process Re-engineering (BPR) used to address the
  problem areas with the main objective of reducing
  diversion and improving the efficiency of
  delivery mechanism.

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BPR Other Reforms

• De-privatization of FPS
• Door step delivery
• Improving economic viability of FPS
• Out reach of FPS is increased
• PDS Infrastructure strengthened

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• Can Technology Stop Corruption?
• (Discussion)

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Process Reforms

• Main features
• Unified ration card database
• Automated Allotment
• Submission of FPS sales details through statutory
  declaration
• FPS Inspection
• Web-based application at distribution centers
• Truck dispatch information through SMS
• Truck Photograph to replace gate pass

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Process Reforms (Contd)

• (1) Unified ration card database
• Cancellation of old ration cards
• New Custom made ration card for each family, with
  details by decentralized data entry but
  centralized printing
• New ration cards with hologram and Bar code
• Distributed in public/gram sabha
• Ration card database now maintained through
  web-based module

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Process Reforms (Contd)

• (2) Automated Allotment
• An FPS database with attached ration card details
  has enabled automated allotment by entering per
  card parameters every month
• Eliminated grafts involved (to get excess
  allotment) in manual allocation
• Eliminated delay in communication of allotment
  details to the FPS
• Communication of manual allotment to FPS took 14
  days, while online allocation takes only one hour
  (NISG)

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Process Reforms (Contd)
(3) Submission of FPS sales through declaration

• Submission of declaration by FPS made compulsory.
  Capturing the details of sales, helps issuing PDS
  commodities considering the closing balance of
  FPS
• Eliminates building surplus stocks at FPS.
  Surplus stock was mostly diverted
• Physical verification of stocks of 10 FPS on the
  basis of submitted declaration every month

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Process Reforms (Contd)
(4) Inspection of Fair Price Shops

• 33 of FPS selected randomly by the computer are
  to be inspected by FI every month and inspection
  details are to be entered in the system.
• Out of that 33, a certain no. of FPS shall be
  selected randomly by computer for District Food
  officers inspection.
• Out of the FPSs inspected by District Food
  Officer. Certain number of FPS shall be selected
  randomly by computer for inspection by state
  level officers.
• Any difference found in the inspection reports of
  the same shop shall be viewed seriously.

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Process Reforms (Contd)
(5) Web-based application at distribution centers.

• All operations through a web based application
  developed in-house, with the help of NIC
• 200 VSAT network on lease
• Broadband/USB based connectivity as backup
• Up to date lifting information
• Real time inventory management
• Computerised receipt
• Automated reconciliation between warehouses

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Process Reforms (Contd)
(6) Truck dispatch information through SMS

• SMS messages automatically sent whenever truck
  challans are printed for FPS at the distribution
  centre
• Sample SMS
• Shop 442003100/Baktara, Truck CG 09 B0791,
  Rice 198.1 qtl. Sugar 7.12 qtl. Salt 10.96 qtl.
  Date 20 APR 10 1549.
• Any citizen can register his mobile number on
  citizen interface web site and get SMS free
  (cg.nic.in/citizen)
• No. of SMSs dispatched so far 1,13,270
• Panchnama at FPS during unloading of PDS
  commodities

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Process Reforms (Contd)
(7) Inter district movement

• SMS to both the DMs, Civil Supplies Corporation
• SMS to all the 3 GMs of CSC if the truck not
  received within 3 days of dispatch
• Truck photograph with latitude and longitude, on
  pilot basis

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Transparency Community Participation

• All trucks coloured yellow
• Call centre
• Citizen portal
• Chawal utsav (Rice Festival)

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Transparency Community Participation (Contd)
(1) Yellow truck carrying PDS commodities
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Transparency Community Participation (Contd)

• (2) Call centre Complaint Monitoring System
• A call centre to lodge complaints or for any
  inquiry, with toll free number 1800-233-3663.
  Operational between 8 AM and 10 PM on all working
  days, since 21st January, 2008
• Call centre number displayed at every FPS
• Complaints lodged are entered in a web-based
  application and monitored in real time at all
  levels
• Grievance redressal status is available online in
  public domain

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Transparency Community Participation (Contd)
(3) Citizen Portal cg.nic.in/citizen
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Transparency Community Participation (Contd)

• (4) Chawal Utsav (Rice Festival)
• Chawal Utsav celebrated at each FPS on 7th of the
  month
• PDS commodities distributed in presence of
  vigilance committee members and Nodal officer
  appointed by the Collector
• 40 sales of the month during Chawal Utsav

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3 Point Strategy to use technology to reduce
leakages in PDS

• Create transparency so that every one knows what
  is supposed to happen and what is happening.
• Provide most convenient system to lodge
• complaint, in case some discrepancy is found.
• Build confidence that all the complaints lodged
  through the system shall be investigated at the
  earliest.

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Thank you

• A.K.Somasekhar
• som_at_nic.in
• 94252 02643