After successfully plugging leakages at the dealer-level fair price shops across the State, the Civil Supplies Department has decided to introduce the electronic- Point of Sale (e-PoS) model in Nalgonda starting February, officials said.
The much-awaited technology will make the monthly supply of ration foolproof, which earlier suffered at the hands of middlemen, Civil Supplies officer S. Udaykumar said. “With a range of features and integration between devices, technology is helping better delivery of services,” he said.
The ePoS devices, upgraded by Oasys – a system integration company, has good features for both operators and users, and comes with troubleshooting and maintenance solutions.
The latest devices for use are with a larger screen, to display the exact commodities against one’s eligibility, a fingerprint and an iris scanner, and generates receipt advice once the transaction is complete.
With the integration of devices among ePoS devices, weighing scales and an android-based application, FPS reports can also be inspected in real time through a supervisor’s login, even remotely. The problem of signal strength on similar machines, as experienced by various users like pensioners, anganwadi teachers and FPS-users elsewhere would not happen in this case, the technical team assures.
Built with multiple SIM slots, like any such device, they are fitted with add-on antennae to boost frequency for signal reception in hilly and interior villages.
The ePoS at FPS, currently in 25 districts in the State, is now being extended to Nalgonda and Suryapet, and the project in the erstwhile Adilabad district would be taken up in February.
The department, presently training dealers on the equipment use, plans to roll out the service in the 990 fair price shops in Nalgonda, Devarakonda and Miryalaguda from February.
