Odisha gets India’s first 24/7 Annapurti ‘Grain ATM’
Bhubaneswar:-Odisha has become the first state in India to provide 24/7 access to the public distribution
system beneficiaries with the launch of a standalone grain dispensing solution, Annapurti Grain
ATM at Mancheswar in Bhubaneshwar today.
Mr Krushna Chandra Patra, Minister of Food Supplies, Consumer Welfare, Science &
Technology of the Odisha Government, unveiled the Annapurti solution with Ms Nozomi
Hashimoto, Deputy Country Director, WFP in India.
“This is a significant initiative in partnership with the World Food Programme to achieve
nutritional security in the state, which is focused on food security. The ATMs will be set up across
the state to provide food grains to beneficiaries with 24/7 access under the National Food Security
Act,” the minister said at the launch.
WFP and the State of Odisha have been partners for six decades. The state has been a
pioneer in ensuring food security and fostering innovations that allow citizens, especially
marginalised sections, to access their entitlements.
“Odisha presents a success story with global relevance. We are humbled to see the
Annapurti solution, a made-in-India globally awarded solution operational in many states, evolving
to add more functionalities and features based on a year-long pilot and testing,” said the Deputy
Country Director for WFP in India.
The Annapurti inaugurated today has several additional features. It is the first standalone
solution, providing service 24 hours a day, much like a banking ATM. With universal access,
anyone with a PDS ration card valid in India, regardless of the State and Union Territory,
beneficiaries can access their entitlement.
Annapurti can dispense grain up to 50 kilograms in five minutes, with an error rate of 0.01
percent. Once biometric authentication is completed, it provides consistent access to the full food
ration. The modular design allows easy assembly based on available space. Annapurti is energy
efficient, consuming only 0.6 Watts per hour and can be connected to solar panels for automatic
refilling. Units enable 24/7 access, reducing waiting time by 70 percent.
On this occasion among others Pallalahara MLA Sri Ashok Mohanty, Mahakalpada MLA
Dr. Durga Prasanna Nayak, Cuttack (Sadar) MLA Sri Prakash Chandra Sethi, Ex-MLA Sri
Priyadarshi Mishra, MD, OSCSC Sri Subham Saxena, ADM, Bhubaneswar, Sri Rudra Narayan
Mohanty, Social Protection and Supply Chain Head of WFP Sri Ankit Sud, WFP Odisha Head Sri
Himansu Bal, Nisanta Agrawal, Nitish Patnaik were present.
