Bhubaneswar, March 11 The Odisha government plans to open rice ATMs in the Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, Keonjhar, and Dhenkanal districts in the near future, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra told the assembly on Wednesday.
The first rice ATM in the state was opened in the Mancheswar area under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits in Khurda district in 2024, the minister said, in response to a written question from BJD legislator Goutam Buddha Das.
Since July 2024, a total of 20,217 ration card holders have withdrawn 3,800 quintals of the cereal through the rice ATM at Mancheswar, he said.
The rice ATM was sponsored by the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The state government has not made any allocation for this in the 2025-26 budget.
Notably, the rice ATM initiative aims to enhance nutritional security among the poor by providing 24/7 access to the cereal.
Beneficiaries need to have an Aadhaar card and undergo biometric authentication to access the facility. Once authenticated, the machine dispenses the entitled grain within five minutes, an official said.