LUCKNOW, June 4 -- In a bid to streamline the public distribution system (PDS), the Uttar Pradesh government has introduced two important measures to tackle irregularities in ration distribution by curbing bogus transactions and exposing overcharging, shortchanging and underweighing etc. As a part of the first measure, the government has mandated a minimum one-minute pause between two consecutive transactions made by any ration dealer through the electronic Point-of-Sale (ePOS) device. "Much like the protocol followed in ATM transactions, we have mandated the one-minute interval between the consecutive transactions by a ration dealer to prevent bogus or proxy entries which have long plagued the fair price shop network across the state," principal secretary, food and civil supplies, Ranvir Prasad said. According to other officials, some dealers were misusing the POS system to quickly process multiple transactions-sometimes without the actual beneficiaries being present-by exploiting saved biometric data or other means....