Bengaluru: Theimplementation of the Face Recognition System (FRS) will help curb fake beneficiaries, said Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar.

Responding to a question raised by JD(S) member Govindaraju during Zero Hour on the first day of the monsoon session of the Legislative Council, the minister said that the ambitious scheme of the central government has been strictly enforced in Karnataka to ensure transparency.

Govindaraju had questioned the difficulties faced in providing nutritional food and monitoring the health of beneficiaries under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) — including pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children below six years — due to the mandatory face capture system.Hebbalkar clarified that Karnataka currently ranks second in the country, with 94.2% of beneficiaries registered through FRS. She noted that the system has been implemented to bring greater transparency in the distribution of nutritional supplements supplied through Anganwadi centres.

Addressing concerns about increased workload for Anganwadi workers and helpers, the minister said they have been exempted from election duties. She also mentioned that new mobile phones were provided to these workers last year to facilitate FRS usage.

Under joint directions from the state and central governments, beneficiaries must be identified through FRS, linking their mobile numbers with Aadhaar. Without this linkage, the central government would stop supplying food items under the ICDS programme.

Hebbalkar assured that the FRS would be further simplified in the coming days to make the process easier while ensuring transparent food distribution to all eligible beneficiaries.