GPS to be used to track trucks carrying PDS foodgrains

Delhi government will track the trucks carrying foodgrains with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices to curb the menace of diversion of rations meant for lakhs of families which are below the poverty line.
Also, SMS will be sent to the ration card holders attached to that fair price shop (FPS) about the arrival of ration commodities. The system is likely to be functional in four months.
The Department of Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs has started work on the setting up of a comprehensive web based, real time tracking system for effective implementation of the Public Distribution System.

"The objective is to continuously track the movement of vehicles to ensure that the ration commodities are properly and timely delivered to the FPS and are not diverted to the open market," said SS Yadav, Food Supply and Weights and Measures Commissioner today.
It will be implemented by the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) Limited which is responsible for supplying foodgrains from the six Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in Delhi to about 2,500 Fair Price Shops (FPS) across the city, informed Yadav.
The move is significant in the wake of the department receiving complaints about diversion of food grains.

Moreover, the department conducted a series of raids in the last two months to detect and prevent diversion, and more than 30 cases have been registered in various police stations.
"3.8 lakh quintals of wheat and rice are supplied from FCI godowns to the FPS and DSCSC also transports 20,000 quintals of sugar from its two godowns to the FPS every month.
"For the transportation, DSCSC deploys 300 trucks every month. There have been a number of complaints about diversion of these items. But leveraging information technology can provide a permanent solution to curb the menace of diversion of foodgrains by real time tracking of vehicles," Yadav said.