Withdraw grains, not cash: Odisha launches India’s first 24/7 rice ATM

India’s first round-the-clock grain ATM was inaugurated on Thursday at Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The ATM, named Annapurti Grain ATM, was unveiled by Odisha’s minister for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, Krushna Chandra Patra in the presence of Nozomi Hashimoto, deputy country director of the World Food Programme in India.
This initiative aims to enhance nutritional security in the state by providing 24×7 access to rice and wheat.
The ATM is designed to address issues in the distribution of food grains through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Patra emphasized that this new system will prevent delays caused by dealers, ensuring that beneficiaries receive their entitled food grains promptly.”Today is a historic day. They can get the rice from the machine and take it easily. It is a very easy step. This will be launched in all the districts of the state,” Patra told reporters.

The process to withdraw grains from the ATM is straightforward. Beneficiaries need to input their Aadhar or Ration card number and undergo biometric authentication.

Once authenticated, the machine dispenses the entitled grain within five minutes.

The World Food Programme in India highlighted that the ATM could dispense up to 50 kilograms of grains with an error rate of just 0.01 percent.

It also allows for consistent access to the full food ration and is designed to be energy efficient, consuming only 0.6 Watts per hour.

The machine can be connected to solar panels for automatic refilling and can be easily assembled based on available space.

Patra announced that they will be deployed across all districts of Odisha.

The modular and energy-efficient design of the machine units ensures 24×7 access and reduces waiting times by 70 percent.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.