Centre relaxes PSS procurement norms for MP farmers facing Aadhaar biometric failures
New Delhi, Aug 4
The Centre has allowed a one-time relaxation for farmers in Madhya Pradesh whose Aadhaar-based biometric authentication has failed during procurement of summer moong and urad under the Price Support Scheme, ensuring they are not denied the benefit of selling their produce at the support price.
Under the new arrangement, such farmers will be allowed to complete the sale through a nominated representative after a prescribed verification process.
Announcing the decision on Tuesday, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the exemption had been granted following reports that some farmers were unable to complete procurement because their fingerprints could not be authenticated despite repeated attempts.
"The Central Government has provided a special exemption for farmers whose Aadhaar-based biometric verification is repeatedly failing during procurement of summer moong and urad in Madhya Pradesh. Under this arrangement, they will be able to sell their produce through a nominated representative," Chouhan wrote on X.
According to the Union Agriculture Ministry's order, the facility will be available only after all permissible biometric authentication attempts have failed. The farmer must be physically present at the procurement centre, where his or her identity will be verified before a nominee is approved through an online process.
The nominated representative will have to complete Aadhaar-based OTP e-KYC, biometric authentication and photograph verification before procurement is completed.
The Agriculture Ministry has made it clear that payment for the procured produce will be credited only to the registered bank account of the farmer and not to the nominee.
Chouhan said adequate safeguards have been put in place to prevent misuse of the facility. "Verification and photograph of the farmer will be mandatory. OTP-based e-KYC and biometric verification of the representative will also be required. This facility will be available only in genuine and special circumstances, and the payment will go only to the farmer's bank account," he said.
The Centre has also asked the Madhya Pradesh government and the Central Nodal Agencies to develop alternative verification systems, including face authentication and iris authentication, to address cases of fingerprint authentication failure in the future.
The one-time relaxation will apply only for procurement of summer moong and urad under PSS during the 2026 summer season in Madhya Pradesh.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who's followed Indian agricultural policy for years, this is a pragmatic step. But the verification process still seems complex for rural farmers who aren't tech-savvy. The nominated representative system adds another layer, and what if a farmer doesn't have a trusted person available? Still, kudos for addressing the biometric failure issue.
It's good they're thinking about farmers but why wait until the season begins? The government should have had face and iris authentication ready BEFORE launching procurement. Now farmers have to go through extra hoops. Also, what if the nominated representative fails biometric too? These are real concerns on the ground.
Hats off to Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji for understanding the ground reality. They say a farmer's fingerprints wear off due to hard work in fields, so biometric failures are common in rural areas. The payment going directly to the farmer's account is a very good safeguard. This is how policies should be made - with common sense!
This is a reasonable stopgap, but I'm concerned about the potential for fraud. What's stopping someone from claiming their biometric is failing and then using a nominee to bypass verification? The government says there are safeguards, but in practice, these can be exploited. The long-term solution should be investing in better authentication tech.
Typical delay in decision-making! Farmers have been facing this issue for years, and only now they're waking up. And why just two crops? What about wheat and paddy procurement? The verification via OTP e-KYC for the nominee is good, but this one-time relaxation is too little, too late. Our kisans deserve
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