An Indian state adopts the blockchain for food rationing

An Indian state adopts the blockchain for food rationing - dlt blockchain

The Indian state of Telangana has decided to adopt blockchain technology to distribute food to the poor, according to an article by The New Indian Express. The Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation (TSCSC) will introduce the DLT into the public distribution system (PDS) during the rainy season to be able to rationalize and make the program more efficient.

What is PDS

PDS is one food distribution network which was created by the Indian government in order to helping citizens who are below the poverty line (BPL). Those who adhere to the program can buy food at lower prices than those offered by the market by going to the distribution centers with documents that attest to their condition of hardship. To test the new mechanism will be launched a pilot project which will affect the rice supply center in the Siddipet district and, in a second phase, a fair-priced store in the city of Gajwel.

Because the adoption of the blockchain

Pushing the authorities to adopt the DLT is the program deterioration resulting from a long series of inefficiencies and corruption. Over time, numerous cases of adulteration or dilution of cereals, pulses, cooking oil and other foods that are distributed in the cities and villages involved in the system have been ascertained. The accumulation and distribution of lower quality food by intermediaries, with the specific aim of increasing profits, has reached alert levels, prompting the central authorities to intervene. The right tool to do this was identified by the state commissioner for civil supplies Akun Sabharwal precisely in blockchain.

What will happen now

The project drawn up entrusts the task of the TSCSC to label the QR codes on the bags carried at the canteens, thus giving government officials the ability to scan them via a mobile application which will provide a range of details such as weight, quality and source. Any discrepancies in the various stages of transport can be easily identified, ultimately ensuring that the ration reaches the villages for which it was intended. In this way it will be possible to remedy the fact that the coding of the bags with the bar code could easily be bypassed, giving rise to the replacement of the products contained with others of lower quality.
If in theory the IoT (Internet of Things) devices can be used during transport in order to provide a real-time monitoring of the ration, the system soon revealed a series of flaws that compromised the original purpose of the plan.
To supervise the operation of the new plan adopted should be Tech Mahindra, at least according to a previous statement according to which this company was helping the Telangana authorities to launch the India's first Blockchain district.

The use of the blockchain for socio-economic purposes is increasingly widespread

Blockchain technology is proving to be a valid partner for programs that have socio-economic goals. As evidenced by its appeal in the past year by the UNICEF Innovation Fund, which decided to invest in six blockchain startups that focus their efforts on the well-being or development of emerging economies.
Also Alibaba e Oxfam have decided to follow the same path: the first launched in China one DLT platform dedicated to charitable organizations, while the second is using it in Cambodia to help rice farmers intensify their production.