14 November 2020
Karnataka’s pilot Annapurti rice ATM will be installed in a slum in Bengaluru, to facilitate the poor to avail of rice on tap. Under the central scheme, the automatic grain dispensers will be installed across the country, starting with five locations — in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, a source in the department told The New Indian Express.
The Annapurti dispensers are part of the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP), that has been closely working with the Indian government. The World Food Programme was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.In August 2020, TNIE had written about rice ATMs to be started in Karnataka to benefit the poor and plug distribution pilferage.