PATNA: The introduction of biometric authentication has derailed Public Distribution System in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, according to a study conducted by a two-member team headed by Jean Dreze, a Belgian-born Indian development economist.
Dreze is currently the visiting professor of the Department of Economics, Ranchi University.
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“The government’s own data, easily accessible from its exemplary NFSA website, suggest that the system has run into serious trouble,” said Dreze in his study. The other person who him in his study was Sneha Menon.
Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was recently made compulsory for users of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Ranchi District.
“This failure is likely to reflect the inappropriate nature of Aadhaar technology for rural Jharkhand. The new system requires many fragile technologies to work at the same time: the PoS machine, the internet, the biometrics, remote servers, and the mobile network,” the study said.
According to him, the system is being followed in Jharkhand despite being the Supreme Court ordering to prohibit Aadhaar being made mandatory for the PDS.
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