Indian Army to add new feature to prevent misuse of canteen smart card

By Anish SinghnnNEW DELHI: Aiming to prevent the misuse of canteen smart card by relatives of serving or retired personnel, the Indian Army has now formulated an additional security feature of access control by storing the right index finger?s impression in the individual smart card.nn?We have received a number of complaints with regards to unauthorized individuals gaining access into Indian Army?s Unit Run Canteens (URCs). To stop them from entering into URCs, an additional feature has been added into the access control system by storing impression of the right index finger in the smart card,? Sources in the Indian Army said.nnThe URCs are an integral part of Canteen Stores Department (CSD) which runs retail stores for the defence forces and is also one of the largest buyers of consumer products.nnThe Sources also clarified that the finger impression will not be stored anywhere else. It will only be inserted into the smart card.nnWhen the beneficiary visits the URCs, he/she has to swipe his/her canteen smart card and place the finger to authenticate the same.nnThe Army is also mulling to educate the beneficiaries on the same to avoid misinformation and lack of awareness, they added.nnThey also stated that there is no need to Aadhar and PAN card for applying for the canteen smart card. The card issuing firm or any URCs will also not hold any personal documents if they were enclosed during applying for the card.nnEarlier, Combined Canteen Smart Card was introduced to facilitate the Ex-Serviceman (ESM) in order to carry of multiple cards.nnThe combined canteen smart card was used for buying grocery and liquor.nnHowever, a large number of cases were detected wherein beneficiaries misused the facility of applying for both combined and separate liquor and grocery card, which amount to fraud. Based on the feedback, the system of a combined card has been done away with effect from April 1, 2018.nnVeterans were requested to apply for separate cards. All applications received till April 15, 2018 have been personalized and dispatched to respective URCs, the sources said.nnThe CSD with yearly sales of Rs 18,000 crore has 4,500 outlets throughout the country, selling everything from toothpaste to cars at lower tax rates to defence personnel.nnIt even runs mobile stores for those deployed at forward locations.