Shimla: A major technical snag in the Aadhaar authentication server has disrupted the monthly distribution of subsidized foodgrains across Himachal Pradesh, forcing the state administration to pivot to an emergency backup system. To prevent low-income households from being denied essential commodities during the critical final week of the month, the Himachal Pradesh Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has ordered all fair price shops to immediately transition to a temporary QR code-based verification process.
The server outage, which has persisted for the past three days, left thousands of beneficiaries stranded at fair price depots across multiple districts because the electronic Point of Sale machines were unable to verify biometric data or link with the central database. Recognizing the urgency of the situation and the financial distress caused by repeated futile trips to distribution centres, the food supplies department authorized depot operators to utilize secondary verification infrastructure. Under this interim protocol, fair price shop dealers will utilize the digital scanners already integrated into their depot terminals to scan the unique QR codes printed directly on individual ration cards to authorize the release of foodgrains.
Administrative heads have emphasized that the measure is strictly a stopgap arrangement designed to maintain the state’s food security net during infrastructure failures. Purushottam Singh, the District Controller of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs for Kangra, confirmed that explicit directives have been issued to all depot operators to sustain the QR code methodology for the duration of the network crisis. Senior officials assured the public that standard biometric and Aadhaar-based logging protocols will automatically resume across all state-managed fair price shops the moment central servers are fully restored and stabilized.
