Linking Aadhaar to ration cards saved Rs 14,000 cr: Ram Vilas Paswan

Eighteen crore ration cards have been linked to Aadhaar cards in the country, says Ram Vilas Paswan

Linking Aadhaar with ration cards has resulted in a huge saving of Rs 14,000 crore for the exchequer, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Thursday.

"Eighteen crore ration cards have been linked to Aadhaar cards in the country. This has resulted in savings of Rs 14,000 crore due to weeding out of bogus ration cards," the Food Minister said at the India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit 2017 here.

The government, he said, aims to computerise the Public Distribution System to help check pilferages and plug leakages by installing electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices at all fair price shops.

"There are a total of 5.22 lakh fair price shops across the country," he said.

Procurement, storage and distribution of agricultural produce need proper and efficient logistics system to plug leakages, avoid rotting of grains and other perishable items and timely transport of the produce to the market, he said.

There is a need to develop a National Common Market, Paswan added.

He said connectivity between rail, road and waterways are required, so that farmers can take their produce to market in time and get better price.

The minister said there is an impressive growth in sectors like roads, waterways, aviation and railways.

Addressing the inaugural session, Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy said with all infrastructure and logistics development the need to develop skills of man power is also required.

The employment seeker will need proper training for this area, he said, adding that with the transport and logistics sector poised for a makeover, a lot of new jobs are likely to become available.

He emphasised the need to train the youth to make the best of these upcoming opportunities.

The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Mansukh L Mandaviya stressed upon the need for an integrated approach for development of multi modal transport.

He said the government is also working on alternatives for cargo movement from road to inland waterways and rail. He said the mission of the government is to bring down carbon emission to 10 per cent.