Tripura Minister Sushanta Chowdhury Contemplates To Issue 9.59 Lakh Smart Ration Cards

In a press conference at the secretariat on Wednesday, Food, Public Procurement and Consumer Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that 765 ration shops out of 2,048 ration shops in the whole state will be upgraded to model ration shops.

He added, “To implement this program, 75 ration shops from 8 districts of the state will be identified. Besides, 165 ration shops run by cooperatives will be added for model ration shops”.

Chowdhury further said that one-time financial support of 10,000 rupees will be given from the department for the development of the infrastructure of the identified model ration shops.

The Food Minister claimed that if this plan is implemented, these ration shops will be strengthened in the public distribution system.
In the press conference, Chowdhury also said, “Currently, there are 9 lakh 59 thousand 455 ration cards in the whole state. The Food and Public Procurement Department has decided to convert these cards into Ration Smart Cards”.

He said that this type of smart card is comparatively very strong, durable and will be destroyed later and will be easy to carry.
The Food Minister added, “There are 2,048 ration shop dealers in the whole state. Initiatives will be taken to cover each of these ration shop dealers and their families in future”.

He said, “The initiative of the department is being taken to launch ‘Ration Mitra’ in the future. This initiative aims to ensure that the poor and sick people can take advantage of the state’s rationing system, as the system will deliver ration parcels to their homes from time to time”.