For economic viability of fair price shops (FPS) through generation of additional revenues, the food ministry is aiming to convert around 2.12 lakh of these outlets into common service centres (CSC) which are expected to provide a host of services.
Currently, 38,000 public distribution system (PDS) outlets have been turned into CSCs following a memorandum of understanding between the department of food and public distribution and the ministry of electronics and information technology in September 2021.
Sources told FE that 212,000 FPS have been shortlisted for onboarding as CSC soon. Most of the revamped PDS outlets are in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
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These PDS outlets, along with supplying foodgrains to 800 million beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), provide a host of services such as registrations for Aadhaar and PAN cards, booking of train tickets, checking of bank balance and accessing information relating to eligibility of various schemes.
Food ministry officials told FE that many of these outlets revamped as CSC are also providing services such as selling FMCG products and booking offices for auto manufacturers.
Currently, there are 5.34 lakh FPS in the country, distributing on an average 60-70 million tonne of subsidised foodgrain annually under NFSA to more than 800 million beneficiaries. Official sources said there is scope of generating additional income from FPS as a large number of people visit these outlets for getting their monthly entitlement of grains.
FPS owners currently get a commission of Rs 143/quintal for food grain supplied under NFSA in hilly and north-eastern states while they receive Rs 70/quintal in rest of the states.
“We want to ensure that these outlets remain viable and sustainable offering a host of services and enhanced beneficiary experience,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the food ministry has asked states to follow several best practices adopted by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu where these outlets have received ISO certifications and non-PDS commodities such as FMCG products sourced from major companies such as ITC, Hindustan Unilever and cooperatives are sold at concessional rates.
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The food ministry, in collaboration with the department of financial services in the finance ministry and the State Bank of India, has also approved a plan that would allow the FPS dealers to access bank credit under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which provides loans of up to Rs 1 million to non-corporate, non-farm, small and micro enterprises.
Officials said some states have started to on-board Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) services at FPS, which would help extend internet services to the people in rural and remote areas.
Under the reforms initiated to improve the targeted PDS, the government has initiated several measures such as digitisation of ration cards, Aadhaar seeding of ration cards and installation of electronic point of sale (ePoS) machines at FPS. At present, over 97% of 534,000 FPS located across the country have ePoS machines.