Automated billing in fair-price shops on cards in TN

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Bogus billing and unauthorised sale of stocks in fair-price shops will soon become events of the past. Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) will submit a draft proposal to the civil supplies department next week, to automate billing systems in fair-price shops across the state.

"When the department accepts the proposal to implement GPRS-enabled billing machines, bogus billing and unauthorised sale of stocks will become extremely difficult," said C Umashankar, managing director, ELCOT.

The agency has prepared a proof of concept to implement automated billing in fair-price shops, which will benefit about 2 crore families across the state, he said. The billing machine will be connected to a remote server and details of every transaction will be stored in it, he added.

The device would cost at least Rs 16,000, he said. However, it is much cheaper compared to installing a PC in every shop, he added.

"The software is from ELCOT's R&D. It has been developed over the last one-and-a-half years. When the department accepts the proposal (they have shown interest in the device) we propose to run this as a pilot project in Chennai across 400 shops," Umashankar said.

All details regarding family card holders are available on the government's intranet. With the civil service department's direction, ELCOT will soon make the details available to the public, he added.