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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2849
TO BE ANSWERED ON 17TFI DECEMBER, 2025
E-KYC VERIFICATION OF PDS
2849. SHRI BAIJAYANT PANDA:
Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD AND PUBLIC
DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:
(a): the number of Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries who have
completed their e-KYC verification, State-wise;
(b): the measures taken by the Government to ensure that beneficiaries particularly in
rural and tribal areas are able to complete their e-KYC for continued access to PDS
entitlements;
(c): whether the Government is undertaking awareness programmes to motivate and
facilitate more PDS beneficiaries to register their e-KYC and if so, the details thereof;
and
(d): whether the Government is planning any additional policy interventions to curb
wrongful inclusion or fraudulent claims in the PDS beneficiary list and if so, the details
of such proposed measures?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS,
FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)
(a): A statement showing State-wise number of NFSA beneficiaries completed e-KYC as
on 3 1 st October 2025 is at Annexure.
(b) & (c): As per the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) Control Order, 2015, the
review and updation of ration cards, identification of duplicate or ineligible beneficiaries,
and inclusion of eligible households fall under the responsibility of the respective State/UT
Governments. States/UTs have been advised to take all necessary steps to facilitate
completion of e-KYC for PDS beneficiaries, including those residing in rural, remote, and
tribal areas. It may be noted that no genuine beneficiary has been denied entitlement solely
on account of non-completion of e-KYC.
To further support beneficiaries, the Department has enabled Aadhaar-based e-KYC
for PDS beneficiaries at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice across the country. This
facility has been particularly beneficial for migrant workers, who previously had to returnto their home States to complete e-KYC. The system is now fully operational in all
States/UTs and has significantly improved convenience, accessibility, and beneficiary
compliance.
(d): The Public Distribution System operates under the joint responsibility of the Central
and State/UT Governments. The operational functions–including identification of eligible
families, issuance of ration cards, Aadhaar seeding, and distribution of foodgrains–rest
with the respective State/UT Governments.
To support States/UTs in improving the accuracy of beneficiary databases and
curbing wrongful inclusion, the Department undertook a comprehensive data analytics
exercise during 2024–25. Multiple key indicators–such as beneficiaries aged over 100
years, silent ration cards, duplicate ration cards, and single-member ration cards for
beneficiaries below 18 years–were applied to the national PDS database. This analysis was
further strengthened through cross-matching with datasets of other Ministries/Departments,
including Aadhaar (UIDAI), CBDT, MoRTH (Vahan), MCA, and CBIC.
Based on this multi-layered validation, approximately 8.51 crore beneficiaries were
flagged for field verification. The lists were shared with all States/UTs for appropriate
action in accordance with their notified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Till date,
States/UTs have reported deletion of about 2.13 crore beneficiaries after verification,
thereby enabling the inclusion of genuinely eligible households.
+cSe seescscAnnexure
State-wise number of NFSA beneficiaries completed e-KYC as on 31st October 2025
No. of Percentage of
No. Of 1 No. of beneficiaries beneficiaries
S Ration Cards 1 beneficiaries under NFSA under NFSA
State / UT
No. (RC) Under 1I under NFSA whose e-KYC whose e-KYC
NFSA has been has been
(a)
completed(b] completed (%
Andaman & Nicobar
1 Islands 17,992 61 ,261 60,932 99.5c70
Andhra Pradesh
2 88,37,973 2,68,23,200 2,50,59,919 93.4%
Assam
3 70,33,972 2,44,94,885 2,07,38,508 84.7(70
Arunachal Pradesh
4 1,86,417 8,51,047 4,55,291 53.59G
Bihar
5 2,08,36, 105 8,32,20,904 6,51,44,413 78.3%
Chandigarh (DBT)
6 82,850 3,41,954 3,32,148 97.19/o
Chhattisgarh
7 56, 18,976 1,98,49,313 1,72,65,202 87.0%
Delhi
8 17,40,621 I1,11 ,995 59,12,891 81.2%
Dadra Nagar Haveli
9 and Daman &Diu 57,781 2,65,160 2,12,253 80.O%
F
42,11,814 1 ,64,32,686 91 ,66,316 55.89/o
F
7,40,855 28,25,555 27,49,841 97.3c%
PG
1,22,279 4,46,965 3,38,861 75.89/o
G
75,83,635 3,52,78,131 3,20,67,896 90.9%
14 1J ammu & Kashmir 16,60,400 67,40,632 58,78,557 87.2c70
J
60,30,329 2,62,98,890 2,00,82,241 76.4%
t
1,09, 13,532 3,98,69,604 3,96,91 ,980 99.6%
Bl
42,42,928 1 ,45,80,356 1 ,44,01 ,09 1 98.8%
d
28,880 1, 13,349 1, 13,349 IC)O.O%
I
4,629 20, 179 17,674 87.6%
A 1,31,86,400 5,35,08,215 4,94,22,460 92.4%
t
1,67,85,945 6,83,22,243 4,03,74,787 59.1%
R
5,82,335 21 , 15,890 1,15,371 5.598
A
4,21,888 21,45, 105 8,40,140 39.29/o
N 1,79,564 7,06,210 5,67,687 80.4%
N
3,33,943 11,78,425 9,02,732 76.6%
d
1,91,253 6,34,390 3,43,134 54. lc70Rajasthan
27 ,09,43,305 4,43,98,244 4, 13,40,735 93.1(yo
1
Sikkim
28 97,08 3,80,556 3, 13,915 82.5%
1
Tamil Nadu
29 1, 17,14,899 3,60,00,980 3,20,94,193 89.lcyo
30 Telangana 56,46,580 1 ,9 1 ,69,600 1,66, 18,534 86.7%
Tripura
31 6,03,764 23,44,930 19,34,861 82.5%
32 Punjab 40,50,878 1,51,67,073 1,30,97,735 86.4%
Odisha
33 96,48,379 3,25,41,555 3,09,41 ,730 95.1%
Uttarakhand
34 13,97,689 60,80,620 25,20, 196 41.4%
Uttar Pradesh
35 3,62,02,876 14,57,02,235 13, 14, 15,709 90.2%
b36 West Bengal 1,37,30,496 5,99,14,052 5,89,62,690
r
98.4%
T
TOTAL 0 79,61,02 ,389 68, 14,95,972 85,6%