Parliament Question: Audit of Free Ration Beneficiaries under NFSA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6100 TO BE ANSWERED ON IsT APRIL, 2026 AUDIT OF FREE RATION BENEFICIARIES UNDER NFSA 6100. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR: Will the Minister of CONSUIVIER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a): whether the Government initiated an audit/verification exercise of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) to weed out ineligible and suspicious ration cardholders and if so, the details thereof; (b): the number of such suspicious, ineligible beneficiaries identified, removed so far, State- wise including district-wise for Himachal Pradesh along with the key parameters being used for verification including Aadhaar de-duplication; (c): the details of the estimated savings in terms of foodgrains and subsidy expenditure resulting from such removal; (d): the details of the safeguards to ensure that genuine vulnerable poor families are not adversely affected during verification drive, details of appeal, grievance redressal available; (e): whether any instances of misuse, political interference or fraudulent practices by officials or private parties have been detected during this audit exercise and the corrective action taken by the Government in this regard; and (f): the manner in which the Government proposes to further strengthen transparency and accountability in the distribution of subsidised foodgrains, while ensuring intended benefits reach only most deserving households? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a) & (b): The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), governed under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, operates under the joint responsibility of the Central and State/UT Governments. The operational responsibilities relating to identification of eligible beneficiaries and families, issuance and management of ration cards, and updation of beneficiary databases rest with the respective State/UT Governments.In order to support States/UTs in improving the accuracy of beneficiary databases and to address inclusion and exclusion errors, the Department of Food and Public Distribution has undertaken a ' Rightful Targeting” exercise using data analytics and cross-verification of NFSA beneficiary data with multiple external databases of various Ministries/Departments, including Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)/CBIC, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), IVlinistry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH – Vahan), and Aadhaar, along with internal PDS database parameters. The key parameters used for identification of ineligible beneficiaries include, beneficiaries identified as Directors in companies (MCA), income criteria as per CBDT records (e.g., income above ?6 lakh or as per State-specific thresholds), Aadhaar-based checks such as deceased beneficiaries, beneficiaries above 100 years of age or anomalous cases like single-member households below 18 years, ownership of motor vehicles as per MoRTH database, GST-related indicators such as turnover exceeding ?25 lakh, detection of duplicate beneficiaries, and identification of “silent beneficiaries” not availing ration for a prolonged period. Based on this exercise, 8.51 crore beneficiaries were flagged across States/UTs for field verification by the respective State/UT Government. Subsequent field-level verification by States/UTs has led to removal of 2.21 crore ineligible beneficiaries enabling improved targeting of genuinely eligible households. Additionally, 2.64 crore beneficiaries were found eligible by the States/UTs and have been retained. State/UT-wise details are placed at Annexure-l. District-wise details for Himachal Pradesh are placed at Annexure II. (c): The savings cannot be precisely quantified, as States/UTs issue new ration cards to eligible beneficiaries in place of those removed. However, the removal of ineligible/duplicate beneficiaries creates space for inclusion of more deserving households and enhances the overall efficiency and targeting of the system . (d): States/UTs have been advised to carry out re-verification of these flagged cases strictly in accordance with their notified inclusion/exclusion criteria. Any decision regarding retention, deletion, or correction of beneficiary records is taken only after such verification by the respective State/UT Governments. No beneficiary is removed automatically or without due process. The Department has also undertaken several measures to strengthen digital monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms under the Public Distribution System (PDS).Firstly, grievance redressal systems have been strengthened through the universal availability of toll-free helplines (1967/1800 series) across all States/UTs- in addition, Anna Sahayata (ASHA) has been introduced as an Al-enabled grievance redressal platform leveraging WhatsApp and IVRS channels, enabling beneficiaries to lodge complaints and provide feedback in their preferred regional languages. The Mera Ration Mobile App also provides an integrated interface for beneficiaries to access their entitlement details, view transaction history, locate nearby FPSs, and register grievances directly. Further, monitoring has been strengthened through integration with the CPGRAWIS platform1 wherein States/UTs have been advised to adhere to the prescribed timeline of 21 days for grievance disposal. Grievance pendency is regularly monitored through dashboards, and periodic advisories are issued to ensure timely resolution. States/UTs with high pendency are specifically flagged for corrective action. These initiatives collectively enhance transparency, improve accountability, and ensure timely delivery of services to beneficiaries under the PDS. (e): No instances of misuse, political interference, or fraudulent practices by officials or private parties have been reported to this Department. (D: Present Status of modernization efforts of Public Distribution System (PDS) by the Department across the country are as follows – • Ration cards/beneficiary’s database have been completely digitized (100%) in all States/UTs. •Aadhaar seeding has been completed for more than 99.7% ration cards and about 99.26% beneficiaries. • All States/UTs have been regularly urged to complete the eKYC so that the benefits of the scheme reach the entitled beneficiaries. The eKYC has been completed for 87.30% beneficiaries• Nearly 5.50 Lakh (99.8%) out of total 5.51 Lakh Fair Price Shops (FPSs) in the country have been automated by installing ePoS devices for the distribution of foodgrains through Aadhaar biometric authentication of beneficiaries. • Introduction of Anna Sahayata, an advanced Al-enabled WhatsApp and IVRS-based grievance redressal system, allowing beneficiaries to lodge complaints in their own language using these platforms. • IVlera Ration Mobile App, which enables beneficiaries to check their entitlements, member and demographic details, last month’s distribution status, nearby FPS location, and to lodge grievances directly through the app. • Anna Mitra mobile app enables the field level functionaries as well FPS dealers to run day to day PDS operations. • For effective and efficient implementation of the distribution process, the Department has urged the States to integrate the ePOS devices in FPS with weighing scales. SeSc +caseState/UT-wise details Annexure I Total Flagged Deleted by 1 Retained by Actions Sr No. 1 State Name Cases States/UTs I States/UTs (b/a by States 1 GUJARAT 55,09,230 15, 17,734 42, 84,766 100.00% 2 KERALA 19,21,831 85,788 18,09,058 98.60% 3 RAJASTHAN 75,68,053 16,67,678 56,87,645 97. 19 % 4 ODISHA 49,27,086 5,28,099 41 ,08,592 94.11 % 5 ANDHRA PRADESH 37,90,41 8 3,21, 157 30,43,946 88.78% 6 CHHATFISGARH 33,36,534 2,93,521 23,07,675 77.96% 7 UTTAR PRADESH 54,80,5 18 22,77,303 17,32,339 73.16% 8 TRIPURA 1 ,05,000 51 ,807 20, 153 68.53% 9 LAKSHADWEEP 6,084 4,012 65.94% 10 HARYANA 3 1 ,64,507 20,03,743 1 63.32% 11 KARNATAKA 7,61 ,689 4,26,3 15 54,342 63. 10% 12 BIHAR 54,20,773 13,46,788 14,54,077 5 1 .67% 13 PUNJAB 22, 11,899 2,66,548 7,94,297 47.96% 14 TELANGANA 4,95,795 1,39,718 79,998 44.32% 15 MAHARASHTRA 7 1 SI ,XII 41.90% ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR 16 ISLANDS 97 1 137 267 41.61 % 17 ASSAM 35,95,862 12,94,024 25 35.99% 18 TAMIL NADU 10,46,675 2, 10,814 1 ,28, 195 32.39% 19 WEST BENGAL 17,29,802 3,57,390 1 ,86,612 3 1 .45% 20 JHARKHAND 40,69,980 6,94,090 3,66,617 26.06% Dadar & Nagar Haveli & 21 52,265 8,689 9 16.64% Daman & Diu 22 MADHYA PRADESH 73,85,254 9,26,882 2, 15,687 15.47% 23 HIMACHAL PRADESH 5,32,435 25,357 55,324 15.15% 24 UTTARAKHAN D 8,53,703 74,4 14 4 1 ,253 13.55% 25 SIKKIM 38, 13+ 4,411 400 12.62% 26 CHANDIGARH 61 ,481 7,457 12.13% 27 DELHI 8, 14,258 80,420 9.88% 28 NAGALAN D 3,08,904 23,799 2 7.70% 29 GOA 49,279 3,312 6.72% 30 MIZORAM 1 ,72,241 8,669 7 5.04% 31 PUDUCHERRY 3 1 ,002 1 ,342 4.33% 32 LADAKH 19,229 618 3.22% 33 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 10,67,961 28,665 HO 2.97% 34 MANIPUR 5,66,437 15,540 2.74% 35 MEGHALAYA 49,455 1,317 2.66% 36 ARUN ACH AL PRADESH 1 ,67,926 30 0.02% Grand Total 8,51,57,242 2,21,16,115 2,64,32,181 57.01 %Annexure ll District - wise details for Himachal Pradesh Sr No F District Name Flagged Deleted Retained % Actions Cases Cases Cases Taken CHAMBA 35683 1204 4097 14.86% KANGRA 11 6280 6809 4979 10.14% LAHUL AND 994 118 836 95.98% SPITI KULLU 38052 808 19166 52.49% MANDI 95982 2962 6125 9.47% HAMIRPUR 29166 1541 1022 8.79% UNA 41424 1794 1666 8.35% BILASPUR 36844 1468 672 5.81 % 9 SOLAN m6 4335 2129 13.90% 10 SIRMAUR 34742 1016 1578 7.47% 11 SHIMLA 51902 3086 12366 29.77% 12 KINNAUR 4861 216 688 18.60% Grand Total 5,32,435 25357 55324 15.15%