Mizoram to mandate GPS tracking for rice trucks

Mizoram will require GPS tracking on trucks carrying rice and will link electronic point-of-sale (ePoS) machines with digital weighing scales to plug leakage, state minister B Lalchhanzova said on Thursday in Aizawl, according to the Nagaland Post.

GPS tracking mandate for rice trucks

The food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister announced that all rice-carrying trucks must install AIS-140-compliant GPS devices so their movement can be monitored from the department’s command and control room. Vehicles without the devices will be barred from transporting ration rice. As an interim measure, transporters may use a mobile-app-based tracking system jointly developed by the Centre and the World Food Programme, with the full GPS system expected to be operational by the end of December.

Linking ePoS machines with digital weighing scales

Lalchhanzova said every ePoS machine at fair price shops will be integrated with a digital weighing scale. The integration is intended to ensure that the quantity entered into the system matches the actual quantity handed to beneficiaries, preventing under-weighing and false transactions. Retailer training was completed for the November distribution cycle; however, 263 retailers facing internet or equipment problems have been permitted to continue distribution under the existing system.

Digitising the supply chain and adjusting rates

The minister outlined a three-system digitisation of the supply chain: a Supply Chain Management System, a Route Optimisation Tool and a Vehicle Location Tracking System. The Route Optimisation Tool will identify shorter transport routes, while the Vehicle Location Tracking System will provide live tracking of trucks. He also announced higher margins for ration retailers and raised the town-trip transportation rate from Rs 50 to Rs 75 per quintal.

Procurement figures and stock management

Mizoram requires around 91,000 quintals of rice each month for ration distribution. Of this, 54,798.33 quintals are supplied free of cost by the Food Corporation of India under the National Food Security Act, and the state procures about 36,000 quintals from the open market. Procurement for 2026-27 is projected at 3,34,114 quintals, a reduction of 1,45,374 quintals compared with 4,79,488 quintals in 2025-26, which the minister said should save the state roughly Rs 52.19 crore. Adequate rice stocks are being maintained, with December’s NFSA requirement currently being lifted from seven FCI depots, and a tentative monsoon stock plan covering 66 centres prepared for 2027-28.

Scope of the fair price shop network

The department reports that Mizoram has 1,266 fair price shops and 2,96,051 ration cards covering a population of 11,78,801. The new digital measures aim to ensure that beneficiaries receive their full entitlement and that the distribution system operates with greater transparency.