Kerala plans 24-hour grain ATM pilot in Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala will pilot an Annapurti grain ATM in Thiruvananthapuram, allowing ration beneficiaries to collect foodgrain through biometric verification at any hour.
AI-generated illustration representing Kerala’s Annapurti grain-ATM plan; it does not depict the actual machine, pilot site or an event. Image: OpenAI / MyNilgiris.
Thiruvananthapuram is the pilot district; a start date and the number of machines have not yet been announced.
Kerala’s Food and Civil Supplies Department plans to introduce a 24-hour “Annapurti Grain ATM” pilot in Thiruvananthapuram district. The state intends to extend the system to other districts after the pilot.
The machine works like a bank ATM. A beneficiary enters a ration-card or Aadhaar number and completes fingerprint verification before collecting the entitled grain. The World Food Programme says the Annapurti system can dispense up to 50 kilograms in five minutes. Kerala has not yet announced the pilot’s launch date, number of units or exact installation sites.
- Pilot district: Thiruvananthapuram
- Purpose: 24-hour access to ration grain
- Authentication: ration-card/Aadhaar number and fingerprint
- Partner: World Food Programme
Image disclosure: This is a symbolic illustration generated with OpenAI. It does not depict the actual machine, pilot site or a launch event. Image: OpenAI / MyNilgiris.
Sources
- Kerala Information and Public Relations Department, 28 October 2026
- The Economic Times Malayalam, 28 October 2026, 10:32 a.m. IST
- World Food Programme — Annapurti background and operating capacity
