In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State government on Wednesday waived the mandatory biometric identification for beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS).
An order by the Food and Civil Supplies Department said that the decision to waive the biometric identification system had been taken in the light of reports that PDS beneficiaries were finding it difficult to get their monthly quota.
A release stated that alternatives such as using the mobile phone number of the beneficiaries to send an OTP had been made while ensuring adequate supply to the aged, persons with disabilities, and those who have PDS portability.
It is said that as on May 11, as many as 17.77 lakh PDS card holders had taken their quota while all the districts had lifted their quota from the Food Corporation of India.
To schoolchildren
Meanwhile, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar on Wednesday said that direction had been issued to provide foodgrains being given to school students in place of midday meals before May-end. He said that the remaining portion of foodgrains, including oil and others, would be issued soon after the lockdown ends.
The Minister said that money meant for the scheme had already been released, and that since it was difficult to lift all the foodgrains together from KSFC godowns, it was being done in two phases.
He said that foodgrains in the first phase had been given to schools for a period of 108 days while for some schools, they had been give for a period of 132 days. The announcement of lockdown had hampered distribution to the rest, he added.
