India’s first grain ATM set up in Haryana, dispenses 70 kg grains in 5 minutes

India’s first grain ATM set up in Haryana, dispenses 70 kg grains in 5 minutes

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Gurugram, Jul 20, 2021: The state government of Haryana has kicked off a first of its kind unique initiative in which a grain ATM has been set up in the state’s Gurugram area. The machine, named ‘Annapurti’ has been set up at Farrukhnagar in Gurugram and is aimed at easing up the process of dispensing grains at ration shops.

 

The state’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala recently took to the Twitter to make the announcement about the project. He tweeted in Hindi, “I am announcing with a great pride that country’s first food grain ATM ‘Annapurti’ has been set up in Gurugram district of Haryana. The purpose of this ATM is to make the distributions of grains at government-run ration shops easy and hassle-free."

 

बड़े गर्व के साथ साझा कर रहा हूं कि देश के पहले अनाज एटीएम ’अन्नपूर्ती’ की शुरुआत हरियाणा के गुरुग्राम जिले से हुई है। इसका उद्देश्य विभिन्न सरकारी योजनाओं में मिलने वाले अनाज के वितरण को सुगम एवं पारदर्शी बनाना है। pic.twitter.com/WgFGHRRqfd

— Dushyant Chautala (@Dchautala) July 14, 2021

Chautala said the ATM has been set up as a pilot project for now. According to PTI, the minister said the purpose of installing this machine is to ensure that the right quantity should reach the right beneficiary with minimum hassle.

After this ATM is running successfully, Chautala said that plans are also in pipeline to install more such grain dispensing ATMs across the state at government depots to reduce hassle in supply of grains. The error in the measurement of grain is negligible and this machine can dispense up to 70 kg of grains within 5 to 7 minutes at a time.

 

The ATM is set up with biometric system with a touch screen and the consumers can enter either Aadhaar Card or ration card unique number to receive the grains, a statement said. As of now, the machine can dispense wheat, rice and millet.

Under the central government’s scheme, these grain ATMs will be set up across the country and will start off with five states namely Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.

The ‘Annapurti’ ATMs are a part of United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) that are working hand in hand with the Indian government to alleviate the problems of food scarcity in and around poorer sections of India. The World Food Programme, which was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, also works closely with Ethiopian, Mali, Bangladesh, Kenya, Sudan among other countries to address problems of food shortage and hunger.