Odisha government will soon launch a pilot project — Grain ATM — to dispense rations through automated teller machines (ATM) to beneficiaries under both the national and state food security scheme.

The pilot scheme will be launched in the urban areas in the first phase and later extended to other areas once it is successful. India’s first Grain ATM was launched in Gurugram in Haryana last year.

Food supplies and consumer welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said in the first phase, the pilot scheme would be introduced in the state capital Bhubaneswar and later be extended to other urban areas. “We will bring transparency in the entire system,” Nayak told the state legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Nayak said a special bar code card will be given to the beneficiaries to get the service. “The ATM card will be fitted with a biometric system. The beneficiary will need to enter the Aadhaar or ration card numbers. Once the beneficiary pushes the card into the ATM, the machine will read the number. Once the ATM authenticates the number, the entitled kgs of food grain will be released by the ATM machine to the concerned beneficiary.”

At present, a beneficiary is availing of 5kg of food grain (rice, wheat or a combination of both) per head at Rs 1 per kg per month. The facility is being executed under an agreement with the World Food Programme.

In 2021, the state signed a number of partnership agreements with the WFP to bring transparency in the paddy procurement and release of rations to the people.

Under the agreement, smart mobile storage units and transformation of the public distribution system would soon be launched.