The disruption affected biometric Point of Sale (PoS) machines installed at over 28,000 fair price shops statewide, preventing beneficiaries from authenticating their identities and collecting food grains. The technical fault, attributed to server failure and ongoing software upgrades, was resolved Thursday, allowing normal operations to restart.
District Supply Officer Chandrabhan Singh Jadaun confirmed that the system is functioning again and that ration distribution has resumed without further technical obstacles. “The server issue has been fixed, and beneficiaries can now access their entitlements smoothly,” he said.
Under the state’s public distribution network, 13,245,841 registered beneficiaries depend on 28,070 ration shops for subsidised food grains. In Bhopal alone, 502 shops serve roughly 350,000 residents enrolled in the scheme.
The outage had stalled the biometric verification process required before issuing rations. Beneficiaries must confirm their identity using thumb impressions on PoS devices supplied by a private technology contractor. Without server connectivity, authentication failed, forcing temporary suspension of distribution.
Officials said the interruption stemmed from backend server problems combined with scheduled system upgrades. The downtime exposed the system’s dependence on real-time connectivity, prompting calls from local administrators for contingency mechanisms to avoid similar disruptions in future.
Under existing entitlements, priority households receive 5 kilograms of food grains per member each month, typically 4 kg of wheat and 1 kg of fortified rice. Antyodaya households — classified among the poorest — are allotted 35 kg per family monthly, including 30 kg of wheat and 5 kg of rice. Beneficiaries also receive 1 kg each of sugar and salt.
Authorities stated that pending distributions delayed during the outage will be accommodated within the current cycle to ensure no eligible recipient loses benefits. Monitoring teams have been instructed to track shop-level functioning and report any fresh technical faults immediately.
The restoration comes as the state continues efforts to digitise welfare delivery systems to curb leakages and improve transparency. Officials said system performance will be closely watched over the coming weeks to ensure uninterrupted service.
