Linking the public distribution system to Aadhar has been unearthing a huge number of fake or duplicate ration cards and civil supplies officials are now counting their savings per ration shop. In some Andhra Pradesh districts where enrolment is high, officials have counted savings up to Rs 10-12 crore every month.I haven't done this in a while.
“In Hyderabad district we are seeing savings of Rs 40,000 per fair-price shop per month,” says commissioner of civil supplies Harpreet Singh. “In East Godavari, it is Rs 30,000. Since the online centralised data cannot be manipulated at shop level, only the intended beneficiaries are able to take rations. Both the Centre and the state, which give heavy subsidies, are saving.”
Of course, the numbers up there are big and it seems pretty bad but what does it mean?
First the money:
Rs 11 crore = 110,000,000 rupees = USD 2 million (2,005,424.95 as of today)
Then what the money means in context:
India GDP - per capita (PPP): $3,700 (2011 est.)
Two million dollars represents the annual earnings of 542 average Indians being stolen from the welfare system in just this one type of scheme (fake cards at ration shops) every month in this one district alone.
To compare apples to apples (years to years), that's the annual productive capacity of 6,504 Indians disappearing into the pockets of fraudsters in a single district every year.
There are 640 districts in India.
