HCL Infosystems' led consortium with Accor Services and Virgo Softech has bagged a contract from Madhya Pradesh government for implementing food coupon-based targeted public distribution systems (PDS) in the state. According to a company release, the project would involve setting up a model of food and civil supplies distribution in the state based on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) guidelines.
The order is for over 10 million expected transactions per month at Rs 10.98 (per transaction per family) over 78 months, the company said. These food coupons will capture all biometric, tax, demographic and personal information details, enabling authorities to ensure proper distribution of food rationing and other benefits. The project to cover the entire state (50 districts and over 20,000+ Fair Price Shops) will be implemented in four phases over a period of 16-18 months.
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A long overdue step. The pity is that the so-called IT capital of the country has still not woken up to the need for this path-breaking reform. But, of course, how will it, when the pursuit here is to beat the Reddy brothers at their game?
Muralidhar Rao