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India's first round-the-clock grain ATM was opened at Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Krushna Chandra Patra, Odisha Minister for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, unveiled the Annapurti Grain ATM on Thursday in the presence of Nozomi Hashimoto, Deputy Country Director, of the World Food Programme in India. Patra said that Annapurti Grain ATMs will be launched in all the districts of the state. "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 minister said that with the launch of the grain ATM, the dealers' delaying the PDS beneficiaries their enitiled food garin will stop. He said that the process of getting grain from the machine is not complicated. The minister said that by inputing their Aadhar or Ration card number and undergoing biometric authentication, the beneficiaries will get their entitled grain from the machine. The Odisha government has launched this initiative in partnership with the World Food Programme to achieve nutritional security in the state. The World Food Programme in India said that the ATM will dispense rice/wheat around the clock. Annapurti can dispense grain up to 50 kilograms in five minutes, with an error rate of 0.01 per cent. Once biometric authentication is completed, it provides consistent access to the full food ration. The modular design allows easy assembly based on available space. Annapurti is energy efficient and consumes only 0.6 Watts per hour and can be connected to solar panels for automatic refilling. Units enable 24x7 access, reducing waiting time by 70 per cent. (ANI)
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