Ration shops in Kerala to reopen from Saturday: Minister

Food and Civil Supplies Minister GR Anil said on Friday that the billing software in ration shops has been updated and the shops will start functioning normally from Saturday. Supplies from ration shops were affected on Friday after a technical glitch in the electronic point of sales (e-PoS) machines. The Center had insisted that separate bills be issued for consumers eligible for subsidy under the National Food Security Act (yellow, pink cards) and non-NFSA (blue, white cards). The National Informatics Center (NIC) had completed the work on 1 June. By Friday, the software in the e-POS machines had also been updated. Mr Anil said there were some glitches due to the amendment, after which the government decided to stop the supply on Friday. Yellow and pink card holders will be issued a bill marked ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana’. White and blue card holders will be issued bills bearing the Government of Kerala symbol.