Karnataka will introduce a mobile-based facility for ration-card holders to complete e-KYC through facial authentication within a week, aiming to reduce the need for beneficiaries to visit fair-price shops. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rizwan Arshad announced the move after a meeting with department officials at Vikas Soudha in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The department is processing e-KYC for 2.67 crore beneficiaries in the state. As of the latest update, 97,54,197 beneficiaries, or 37% of the total, had completed the process, the minister said. Under a directive from the Union government, ration-card holders are required to complete e-KYC once every five years.
The mobile facility is intended to ease the pressure on beneficiaries who are currently visiting fair-price shops to collect ration and complete the verification process. The department said a separate URL has been provided in the food application to enable the e-KYC process.
The announcement comes as high footfall at fair-price shops has contributed to server and other technical problems in some locations. Arshad said many members of the public were visiting the shops to obtain ration, resulting in increased pressure on the system. He instructed departmental officials to resolve technical problems as soon as they are reported.
The minister also said the department was conducting a mock load test for the first time to examine the capacity and performance of the Food Department’s server. The test is intended to assess whether the system can handle the demand generated by the e-KYC process and related ration services.
The shift to mobile verification will move part of the process away from the fair-price-shop network, but the department’s announcement does not specify the exact requirements for completing facial e-KYC, including the application process, device compatibility or arrangements for beneficiaries who may face difficulties using a mobile phone. These operational details will be important as the facility is rolled out across the state.
The department has not announced a revised deadline for completing e-KYC in the supplied statement. Its immediate steps are to activate the mobile facility within the stated one-week period, monitor server performance through the mock load test and address technical issues reported from different locations. The minister said officials had been directed to act promptly wherever problems are identified.
