Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday launched a pilot for transformation of 60 Fair Price Shops in different parts of the country into Jan Poshan Kendras.

On the occasion, he also launched FPS Sahay application, Mera Ration app 2.0, Quality Management System, Quality Manual Handbook, Contract Manual FCI and NABL Accreditation of three Laboratories here.

Addressing the event, he said that all six programmes launched will further strengthen food security ecosystem while bringing in transparency, ensuring strict quality control, curb malnutrition and also prevent leakages in the system.

During the launch of the Pilot for transformation of 60 Fair Price Shops in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh into Jan Poshan Kendra, Mr Joshi said that the Jan Poshan Kendra provides solution to the demand of Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers across India to raise their income level.

The Kendras will offer a diverse range of nutrition-rich food items to consumer as well as provide an additional source of income to the FPS dealers.

The Jan Poshan Kendra which was taken up as part of the first 100 days programme of the Central Government will have provision for storing 50 per cent products under the category of nutrition while the rest for keeping other household items. The Union Minister interacted with fair price shop dealers also.

He said under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is dynamically moving towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047. The initiatives by Department of Food and Public Distribution will act as a catalyst for such transformation.

He enumerated that Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has been extended for another five years with an estimated financial outlay of around Rs 12 lakh crore to increase the ambit of food security in the country. One Nation One Ration Card is already facilitating seamless transactions across the country.

The Food Minister said that proactive efforts in digitalization by the Department have resulted in improvement of user-centric services to the beneficiaries. The launch of Mera Ration App 2.0, Quality Management System, Quality Manual, Contract Manual, FPS Sahay Application and NABL Accreditation of Laboratories will further give impetus to digitalization efforts.

Mr Joshi said that the Department is open to suggestions across stakeholders for bringing in further innovation and overall improvement in the Public Distribution System.

Developed by SIDBI, “FPS-Sahay,” is an on-demand Invoice Based Financing (IBF) application designed to offer completely paperless, presence-less, collateral-free, cash flow-based financing to FPS dealers.

The Mera Ration App 2.0 mobile app is launched with more value added features for the beneficiaries across the nation. Department Officials (both Central and State) on their part will also have access to vital information related to ration cards and PDS.

The Quality Management System is a digital application for integration of Quality Control labs in DFPD & FCI. The digital QMS is a vital tool for the Quality Control Labs and is able to capture all key transactions on real time during the stages of procurement, storage and distribution.

DFPD has formulated a comprehensive Handbook of Quality Control that gives a precise description of the various procedures, standards, roadmap and policies to be adopted for ensuring strict quality standards of central pool foodgrains.

The Contract Manual of Food Corporation of India (FCI) was also inaugurated. The contract manual of FCI is envisaged as the guiding principle for removing all ambiguities, ensuring competitiveness and bringing utmost transparency in contracts. The premise is to maximizing participation in FCI tenders.

Accreditation of NABL Labs is crucial for the Department laboratories for compliance with international standards, ensuring quality and reliability in testing and calibration services along with enhanced customer confidence and satisfaction.