Government to Launch Pilot Study for Enhancing Fair Price Shops

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is initiating a pilot study across Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad to improve the viability of 60 Fair Price Shops (FPS). The study includes financial assistance, skill development, and enhanced service provisions with the help of various government and banking institutions.

The government will launch a pilot study to enhance the viability of Fair Price Shops (FPS), announced the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Targeting 60 FPS, the study will be conducted in Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.

According to the Ministry, the central government is offering handholding support by partnering with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for working capital and online wholesale aggregators for selling non-PDS items, focusing on nutritional products. State governments will lead the study.

FPS are government-regulated outlets providing essential commodities at subsidized rates to ration cardholders. To boost their functionality, the central government has requested states and UTs to add services like Common Service Centre (CSC), banking via tie-ups, sales of small LPG cylinders, and other general store items.

The government is also exploring capacity-building and entrepreneurship skill development courses for FPS owners, to be designed with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Moreover, the central government has advised displaying beneficiary rights information, integrating ePoS devices with weighing scales, and potentially installing CCTV cameras. The Public Distribution System (PDS) is a joint effort of the Central and State/UT Governments. (ANI)