from A.K.Soma Sekhar Scientist-'E' NIC Raipur

1. Centralised Online Real-time Electronic PDS
CORE PDS, Chhattishgarh
COREPDS

2. What was there before COREPDS?
Supply chain computerisation is operational
since 2008
 Unified Ration Card Database
 Automated Allotment
 Online, real-time inventory management at
warehouses
 SMS Alerts & Reports in public domain
 Call centre and Complaint Monitoring
System
Increased Transparency ,Accountability, Efficiency

3. Situation before initiative
 BPL beneficiary was getting her full
entitlements in the system, But, still there were
problems faced by beneficiary at FPS.
 There were leakages/diversions in the system
in case of APL food grain & Kerosene

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. COREPDS Objectives
 To improve Service Delivery
 To reduce Diversion
 To empower beneficiary
 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. How it works?
 Beneficiary swipes the card
 Smart card is authenticated
 Ration Card number is sent to central
server
 Food Account balances details are shown
in the POS

14. How it works?
 FPS enters commodities being issued with his
card swiping
 The quantities are deducted from the
balances on central server and success report
is given to POS for further processing
 SMS is given to the registered mobile (if any)
with the card with the transaction details

15. APL Ration Cards
 They are not given smart cards.
 They will register mobile numbers
 They take commodities using OTP

16. RSBY Cards to be used as Ration cards
COREPDS is designed to use RSBY Smart
cards as Ration Cards by linking URN of
RSBY and Ration card number.

17. COREPDS Application Features

18. Issue PDS Commodities with SRC
This is the default method of issuing PDS
commodities in COREPDS. SRC is inserted in
the POS device. POS authenticates SRC and
sends ration card details to server to get Food
A/C balances. When balances are displayed
on the screen, quantities to be issued are
entered and submitted to the server. Server
updates the transaction and success report is
sent. Receipt is printed and given to the
beneficiary along with PDS commodities.

19. Issue with SRC

20. 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.

22. Issue PDS Commodities with OTP
Authentication
APL Beneficiaries have been registered with
their mobile numbers. These beneficiaries also
can go to any FPS with their registered mobile
and claim their entitlements. FPS enters their
ration card number and submits to the server.
Server sends OTP to the registered mobile
number and food a/c balances to the POS
device. Beneficiaries shares OTP with FPS
which will entered in POS device authenticates
OTP and sends success report for further
issue of PDS commodities.

24. Issue PDS Commodities with SRC in Offline
mode
It is true that the connectivity is good in India
and increasing rapidly. But it is also fact
connectivity at one place is not reliable. This
use case is to continue the business in case of
temporary connectivity problems at FPS. The
transaction is completed offline and stored in
the FPS’s Smart card as well as Beneficiary’s
SRC. As soon as the connectivity is available
the transaction shall be updated in the server

26. Issue PDS Commodities with RSBY
Smart Card
Government of Chhattisgarh has decided to
universalize RSBY throughout Chhattisgarh.
Hence department has decided to use RSBY
cards as smart ration cards. This will be the
first successful experiment in the country that
provides for synthesis between the efforts of
the two departments of the government to
provide services to common beneficiaries
through the same instrument. RSBY cards can
also be used for biometric authentication.

28. Reports on POS device
 Daily Transactions
 Stock Position
 Balance Query of Beneficiary
 Mini Statement of a Beneficiary

30. RISKS, CHALLENGES &
MITIGATION STRATEGY

31. 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

32. 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

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

34. Mitigation Strategy
 CGSCSC operates mobile FPS
.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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

38. Competition does not matter when all are bad.
 NGOs, trusts and social activists may be asked to run
additional FPS points (in addition to the existing) at strategic
locations to introduce real competition. These shops also
replenished with the PDS commodities not with the cash
- Sufficient security deposit
- Strict norms for opening timings, display board etc.
- No discrimination among beneficiaries
( Yet to be implemented)

39. How these new FPS improve service level?
 By providing Quick service by keeping pre-
weighed quantities
 By using electronic weighing machines and
modern measuring devices
 By treating beneficiaries with dignity and
respect
 By providing PDS commodities after cleaning
further
 By offering cold water etc.

40. Risk 4
 Distribution of smart cards could not be
completed. A few people do not have
smart cards
 Smart cards are lost. It takes a few days
to re-issue a duplicate card.

41. Mitigation Strategy
 Issue with FPS card when Beneficiary
Smart card is not available
 Permanent Smart card issuing centre
 Duplicate card issue commitment under
citizen charter

42. Risk 5
 Bio-metric authentication creates
unnecessary harassment to 90%
genuine beneficiaries to check fake issue
to 10% cards

43. Mitigation Strategy
 Bio-metric authentication is gradually
introduced in CORE PDS using Aadhaar
Infrastructure
 Collector or his nominated person has
right to exempt a beneficiary (old,
handicapped etc.) from bio-metric
authentication
 One flag on server will decide whether
Bio-metric authentication is required o
not.

44. Risk 6
 Connectivity is either not available or
speed is not sufficient

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

46. Location of FPS’ in Raipur

47. Risk 7
 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. Risk 8
 Too much dependency on SI

50. Mitigation Strategy
 NIC is developing all web services
required
 1st version of POS application has been
developed by SI. SI handovered the
source code to NIC
 NIC has sufficient skill set for
maintenance of POS software

51. Challenge 1
 Maintenance of POS devices
 225 POS devices for 175 FPS

52. Challenge 2
 To train 175 FPS sales men
 To create necessary will to change
 To create necessary change
 To create necessary awareness among
beneficiaries
 Video CD with HCM’s message, Hon’ble
Minister’s message and instructions to operate
POS device (under Development)

53. COREPDS
Performance Indicators

54. Reduction in Fake Issues
Change in percentage of utilization of
commodities at FPS, when compared to that
of the same month of previous year and the
average of 3 months prior to COREPDS, shall
be calculated which can be used to find out
the actual savings due to implementation of
COREPDS.
+ve indicator

55. Measurement of Portability
 Churning Effect
The % of beneficiaries taken commodities from
other than attached FPSs in the total
beneficiaries taken commodities in that month
will be calculated.
+ve indicator

56. Measurement of Portability
 Weeding Out Bad FPSs:
% of FPSs that have served less than 75% of
attached beneficiaries in total number of FPS
in COREPDS shall be measured. When some
FPSs lose their business due to this portability
then only we can conclude that beneficiaries
are getting better service and bad performers
are being punished.
+ve indicator

57. Measurement of improvement in service
delivery
 % of people getting all commodities at
one time:
It is an observation that beneficiaries have to visit
multiple times to get different commodities in the
present system of PDS. It is an obvious improvement
in service delivery if beneficiary can get all the
commodities (except Kerosene) at one time, saving in
multiple trips and associated cost and time. Kerosene
is neither sold nor preferred to be bought along with
food grain commodities because of its smell.
+ve indicator

58. Annual Customer Satisfaction
Survey
An Annual survey will be conducted to take
feedback from at least 1% of beneficiaries in
COREPDS and the customer satisfaction
indicator will be calculated.

59. Stake Holder – Department of Food
Responsibilities Performance Indicators
• Policy making •Number of FPSs
• Introduction of good sponsored
performers •Number of Inspections
• Smart card Distribution taken
• FPS Inspection •% of Smart cards
distributed in total cards
created
•% of signed FPS
declarations uploaded
(monthly)

60. Stake Holder – CGSCSC
Responsibilities Performance Indicators
•Delivery of PDS •Number of FPSs -
commodities to FPS Days with zero stocks
of any commodity
•Operation of mobile (-ve Indicator)
FPS
•Number of
Beneficiaries
benefitted through
mobile FPSs

61. Stake Holder – NIC
Responsibilities Performance Indicators
•Providing technology •Server Up time
solutions Percentage – 95% of
server up time is SLA
•COREPDS technology
maintenance •% of offline transactions in
•Capacity building the total transactions
(-ve Indicator)
•Addressing day to day
technical problems •Number of Hours of
training
•Number of FPS visits

62. Stake Holder – Fair Price Shop
Responsibilities Performance Indicators
•To sell PDS commodities •The % of net addition of
to any valid PDS beneficiaries over the total
beneficiary of COREPDS beneficiaries attached to
ensuring dignity and that FPS who received
convenience of the PDS commodities from
beneficiary any FPS
•To submit signed
declaration in time
•To deposit money with
CGSCSC in time

63. Stake Holder – Beneficiary
Responsibilities Performance Indicators
•To keep watch of •Smiling face of
operations of PDS beneficiary is the
ultimate +ve
performance indicator
of the system
•Beneficiary
performance shall not
be monitored

64. Benefits realised

65. Reduced waiting time for service
delivery
Due to equal distribution of
beneficiaries in all nearby FPS’ the
average waiting time has reduced to
half an hour from 2 to 3 hours
before implementation of
COREPDS

66. Reduction in diversion
Mechanical authentication at the
time of delivery completely checks
the record of proxy issues and thus
reduced diversion

67. Behavioral change in behavior of FPS
personnel
The portability offered in COREPDS
creates fear of losing customers
which brought a drastic change in
behavior of FPS personnel while
dealing with the beneficiary

68. Reduced number of trips of beneficiaries to
take different commodities
In COREPDS, a beneficiary is able to get all
the commodities at one time. Even when one
commodity is not available in an FPS the
beneficiary can take the same from nearby
FPS. This has lead to a drastic reduction in the
number of trips of the beneficiary to take
commodities to 2 trips

69. Bribe money stopped at the root:
As FPS in COREPDS can’t record proxy
issues and hence it cannot black market any
commodities. When the FPS does not get any
illegal money it cannot pump the money
upward in the chain.

70. Quantitative Indictors of Outcome

71. Reduction in Diversion (Aug 31st, 2012)
Indicator Before After Remark
COREPDS CORPDS
100% 95% Prior to COREPDS,
Sale of FPSs used to record
BPL Grain proxy issues and
declare 99 to 100%
sale. After
100% 75% introduction of Smart
Sale of card / OTP
Kerosene authentication the
sale figure have
reduced.
Sale of 80% 50%
APL Grain

72. Improvement in Service Delivery
Indicator Before After Remark
COREPDS CORPDS
Churning Effect: The % 0 14.3% There used to be
of beneficiaries taken the beneficiaries,
from the FPS other than which were forced
the attached to take rations from
% of FPS lost more 0 18 % their fixed shop
than 25% of their prior to
business COREPDS. They
have moved to
Average number of 4 to 5 1.8 other shops. This
trips to FPS to take is a direct indicator
different commodities of improved
service delivery.

73. Freedom to chose
Currently 14% 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

74. 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

75. The road a head
Rollout of COREPDS in
Rajnandgaon & Durg cities 01.11.2012
Bilaspur & Bhilai ciries 01.01.2013
All the remaining 6 cities 01.04.2013
Through the State 31.03.2015

76. COREPDS shall revolutionize
the way PDS operates today

77. Thank you
iamvikassheel@gmail.com
som@nic.in