Odisha's first 'grain ATM' will soon be a reality and can dispense up to 70 kg of grain within five to seven minutes at a time, informed Food Supplies & Welfare Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak in the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
It is called an automated multi-commodity grain dispensing machine. The machine is equipped with a biometric system with a touch screen where the beneficiary will have to enter the Aadhaar card or ration number. Upon authentication, the foodgrain allocated to the beneficiary will be automatically filled in bags kept under the machine.
This machine works like a bank ATM and will be installed on a trial basis in Bhubaneswar. The pilot project will be part of government's initiative to ensure food supplies.
This will be Odisha's first grain ATM. After the successful completion of this pilot project, plans will be made to install these food supply machines across the state. This will not only benefit the consumers, but will also ensure right quantity of ration to the beneficiaries. There will be transparency in the food distribution system and save the time.
Worth mentioning, the Odisha government and the World Food Programme (WFP) had signed four partnership agreements and initiated six new projects in 2021.
Transformation of the public distribution system and paddy procurement, grain ATM and smart mobile storage units were some of the projects.