New PDS norms create biometric hurdle, beneficiaries keep fingers crossed

ELDERLY beneficiaries seated on steps, customers pacing impatiently and ration cardholders shielding themselves from the heat as they await their turn - this has become a common scene outside many PDS shops in several districts ever since the fingerprint match threshold for biometric authentication was revised from 40% to 90%.

- HARINI M @ Virudhunagar

The new rule, implemented last month to improve authenticity, has left cardholders, particularly the elderly, struggling with longer queues and repeated verification failures. "There's chaos. Each person waits for at least 30 minutes for verification and even then, the fingerprint often doesn't match," said S Balasubramanian (74), a resident of Soolakarai in Virudhunagar district. "The salesperson suggested using my wife's fingerprint, but she's 72 and unable to walk to the outlet," he said.