Errors & glitches: Digital upgrade of TN ration shops bugs consumers, staff
Introduced to curb long-standing irregularities—particularly in the weight of essentials such as rice, sugar, toor dal, wheat, and pulses—the new system has turned into a bottleneck, according to shop staff.
Employees say the POS software developed by Oasis is riddled with issues
CHENNAI: In an era where digital upgrades are expected to boost efficiency and transparency, ration shop employees and consumers in Tamil Nadu are grappling with persistent server errors and technical glitches that are slowing down operations and testing patience.
The recent integration of Bluetooth-enabled electronic weighing scales with Point of Sale (POS) machines across all 37,328 fair price shops in the state has backfired, triggering widespread frustration instead of streamlining the distribution process.
Introduced to curb long-standing irregularities—particularly in the weight of essentials such as rice, sugar, toor dal, wheat, and pulses—the new system has turned into a bottleneck, according to shop staff.
Speaking to DT Next, Dinesh Kumar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Ration Shops Workers’ Association, said, “the Bluetooth-linked scales were meant to ensure transparency, but implementation has been flawed. It now takes nearly 15 minutes to process a single ration card, limiting us to about four cardholders per hour. This causes long queues and growing frustration.”
“Earlier, billing was completed before weighing and distributing goods. Under the new system, commodities must be weighed first, then billed—intended to improve accuracy but now marred by technical setbacks like software lags, poor connectivity, and fingerprint recognition failures,” he noted.
“The POS machines often throw error messages such as ‘You have crossed the shop limit’. Fingerprint accuracy, earlier set at 40%, has been raised to 90%, making it nearly impossible during summer when people’s fingers are sweaty. This results in long delays and complaints directed at staff,” he explained.
With many shops staffed by just one employee, the slow system has severely affected daily output.
“Some shops manage to serve only about 20 cardholders a day. It’s causing serious mental stress for both employees and the public,” Dinesh Kumar added.
Another pressing issue is the weight discrepancy in commodities supplied by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation.
At the core of the issue is the POS software developed by Oasis, which employees say is riddled with glitches.
“Even repeated complaints haven’t helped. Sometimes, we resort to using mobile Wi-Fi hotspots to speed things up, but even that isn’t reliable. Officials themselves seem clueless,” said a ration shop worker.
Senior Civil Supplies department officials admitted there were hurdles but stood by the rationale behind the upgrade.
“One of the most common complaints from consumers has been underweight distribution, especially outside Chennai. The integration of digital scales with POS was aimed at resolving this,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
Responding to the growing discontent, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection and Price Control, R Sakkarapani told DT Next that the system was rolled out based on Union government guidelines.
“This method is now mandatory for centrally allocated commodities. However, we are aware of the issues related to the software and fingerprint authentication. We are holding discussions to improve the PDS,” he said.
