Processing of Canteen Smart Card Application of Ex-Servicemen

Revised: Processing of Canteen Smart Card Application of Ex-Servicemen

• ESM will apply for the new Canteen Smart card (against cards which are expiring), six months prior to the expiry of the card, at the nearest URC, The date of expiry of the card is mentioned in the bills generated by URCs. Also, all cards issued after 0'l August 2018 have the date of expiry embossed on the card itself
• ESM applications will be marked as "ESM" and dispatched separately by the URCs to M/s SCPL through respective CCTSC
• New cards will be issued to URCs by Mis SCPL 30 days prior to the expiry of the old card, so that there is no time delay in making the new card and the ESM will be able to avail the facility without any inconvenience. However, the new card can only be activated after the oic card expires, in order to prevent likely chances of misuse.
• ESM will not pay any amount while depositing application with URC. ESM will pay the amount to URC only while collecting new Canteen Smart Card.
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Dependent Canteen Smart Card

Dependent Canteen Smart Card (Grocery Only)

Due to exigencies of services, dependent canteen smart cards (grocery only) have been authorized to dependents of Armed Forces personnel (serving & retired) only. Feedback has been received from the environment wrt misuse of dependent canteen smart cards by few beneficiaries. Following issues are reiterated:- 

(a) Dependent cards may be applied on the need basis only. Further, dependent canteen cards will not be used as identity cards. Dependent cards will only be used for gaining access to Unit Run Canteens. 

(b) Following dependents of Armed Forces personnel (serving & retired) only are entitled to dependent canteen smalt cards (grocery only):- 

• (i) Parents of Armed Forces personnel (serving & retired) (only if dependent, as per official records).
• (ii) Daughter. Up to the age of 25 years or till getting married \ (whichever is earlier). Unmarried/ Widow/ divorcee daughters ii dependent are also entitled irrespective of age. The eligibility will be verified by the URC through official records. 
• (iii) Son. Up to the age of 125 years or till getting employed (whichever is earlier). 

The eligibility will be verified by the URC through official records. 3. Only two dependent grocery cards are entitled to a beneficiary. The onus of furnishing authentic data lies with the primary grocery card holder. URCs/ Local military authority will carry out check URC authenticity/ eligibility of dependent canteen smart cards.

Defence Canteens Plan To Track Orders, Inventory Online

Defence Canteens Plan To Track Orders, Inventory Online

“If a jawan is at the border but wants a product delivered at the residence, he should be able to do so by logging online.” Online ordering and inventory management will leave an audit trail, he said. “There is a trail for the future audit to know if a particular decision was correct or incorrect. The answer for all this [corruption] lies with automation.”

Online ordering and inventory management will leave an audit trail, he said.

There is a trail for the future audit to know if a particular decision was correct or incorrect. The answer for all this [corruption] lies with automation. 

                                                                           By -M Baladitya, Air Vice Marshal & Chairman, CSD

Defence Canteens Plan To Track Orders, Inventory Online To Curb Corruption

Defence Canteens Plan To Track Orders, Inventory Online To Curb Corruption

The Canteen Stores Department, a non-profit retailer that’s also India’s largest, has one big problem: pilferage. The Defence Ministry-operated chain is now betting on a central database and online retail to beat rampant corruption.

“If I can remove human touch from decision making as far as inventory management or ordering is concerned to a large extent, [corruption] will get resolved,” Air Vice Marshal M Baladitya, chairman and general manager of CSD, told BloombergQuint in an interview. The aim is to monitor stock at all its warehouses from its Mumbai headquarters, he said.

The retailer with yearly sales of Rs 18,000 crore has 4,500 outlets across length and breadth of India, selling everything from toothpaste to cars at lower tax rates to defence personnel. It even runs mobile stores for those deployed at forwarding locations. Pilferage is such a big problem that Army Chief General Bipin Rawat sought the help of consumer goods makers that supply to the retailer, the Economic Times reported on April 3. The national auditor had in its 2016 report cited examples to point out the retailer’s failure to curb corruption.

The Canteen Stores Department wants to connect 34 warehouses online to automate inventory management. It has already submitted its proposal to the Ministry of Defence and has already short-listed software services providers, Baladitya said.

The outlets keep 5,500 stock-keeping units and Baladitya wants to prune the list. The focus is not on increasing inventory but filling shelves with fast-moving items, he said.

Apart from automating inventory management, the retailer is also looking to start an e-commerce website. Only armed forces personnel with smartcards that are used at canteens will be used.

Canteen Stores Department (CSD)

Canteen Stores Department