Smart Ration Cards: Distribution Across AP from August 25

Vijayawada: Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar has announced that the government will begin the distribution of Smart Ration Cards from August 25.

Once the new cards come into effect, ration will be distributed at 26,796 shops across the state from the 1st to 15th of each month, in two shifts: 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 8pm. For elderly (65+), disabled and pension beneficiaries, doorstep delivery will continue from the 26th to 30th each month.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, the minister said the new smart cards would be distributed free of cost to 1,45,97,486 beneficiaries. Distribution ceremonies would be held in every constituency, involving ministers, local MLAs and top state leaders, including the chief minister.

Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in the country to complete KYC for 96.05 per cent of its ration cards, he said.

The minister said children under five and individuals above 80 years, totalling 11.47 lakh people, are exempted from KYC. Of the 16.08 lakh applications received for changes to ration cards, 15.32 lakh were approved and only 4.72 per cent of the requests were rejected.

An additional 9.87 lakh new names were added, raising the total number of beneficiaries to 4.29 crore.

Of these, 2.68 crore would receive supplies under the central scheme and 1.61 crore under the state scheme. The government has redesigned the ration cards into smart cards, similar to debit/credit cards, with enhanced security, transparency and accountability, the minister said.

The cards will not carry political leaders’ photos, but instead display the head of the family and all member details, with QR code integration for real-time transaction monitoring.

The minister also highlighted the success of the Deepam-2 scheme, which since last Diwali, has distributed 97.59 lakh free LPG cylinders with `764 crore subsidies in phase one. In the second phase, 93.46 lakh cylinders have been distributed with `747 crore subsidies.