Smarter than Aadhaar: Govt's insistence on disruptive option is bewildering

Last-mile authentication with Aadhaar seems to have the worst record among other options available to check PDS pilferage. So the Centre's insistence on that option is bewildering to say the least

When the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 was passed, it expanded the coverage of the public distribution system (PDS) from about half to two-thirds of the population. As corruption has been a long standing problem in the PDS, the NFSA mandated some PDS reforms based on Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh experiences. These were among a handful of states that had successfully reduced leakages.

One such reform was end-to-end digitisation. Though computerisation of the PDS database had already begun when the NFSA was passed, only a handful of states had reliable “last-mile authentication” of sales in place. In most states,