Parliament Question: Foodgrains under the NFSA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO . 5381 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25Tll MARCH, 2026 FOOD(,RAINS UNDER THE NFSA t5381. SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) : the number of beneficiary families/individuals being provided foodgrains throughout the country under the National Food Security Act (NFS A) at present, State-wise; (b) : the details of the quantity of free foodgrains distributed under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) during the last year and the total expenditure incurred thereon; (c): whether the joint implementation of NFSA and PMIGKAY has made a tangible improvement in the food and nutrition security of the poor, deprived, migrant labourers and Antyodaya families and if so, the key indicators/details thereoe and (d): whether the Government has put in place systems like Aadhaar seeding, e-PoS machines, One Nation One Ration Card to check leakages, increase transparency and ensure timely delivery to the beneficiaries under the above schemes and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a): A statement indicating State-wise number of beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFS A) is at Annexure. (b): During the year 2025, 4,95,49,736.45 MTs of foodgrains were distributed to the eligible beneficiaries under PMGKAY. During the last Financial Year 2024-25, an amount of Rs.1,99,499.67/- crore was released to Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Decentralized Procurement States as food subsidy under the Pradhan Manta Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) . (c): Distribution of free of cost foodgrains under the PMGKAY removes the financial burden of the poor beneficiaries. This strengthens the food security in terms of accessibility and availability of food grains for the targeted population. The scheme also provides a unified institutional mechanism across the country and remove difficulties of the beneficiaries specially migrants under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC).(d): Following modernization efforts of Public Distribution System have been undertaken in all States/UTs– 1. Ration cards/beneficiary’s database have been completely digitized (100%) in all States/UTs. 99.70/, of ration cards have been Aadhar seeded 11. The transparency portal and online grievance redressal facility/Toll-free number have been implemented in all States/UTs. Iii. Online allocation has been implemented in all States/UTs and supply chain has been computerized in 31 States/UTs (except UTs of Chandigarh, Puducherry and Urban area of Dadra & Nagar Haveli which have adopted DBT Cash Transfer scheme). IV. The nationwide portability of ration cards, popularly known as One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) has been implemented in all 36 States/UTs, covering all Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yoj ana (PMGKAY) beneficiaries. As on date, more than 207 Crore portability transactions have been recorded under ONORC More than 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. gcSe + + seeANNEXU RE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARR,ED QUESTION NO. 5381 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 REGARDING “FOODGRAINS UNDER THE NFSA”. State-wise number of beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) as on 01.03.2026. S.No. State Name Beneficiary Count 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 6 1 ,334 2 Andhra Pradesh 2,68,20,046 3 Arunachal Pradesh 8,71 ,000 4 Assam 2,48,94,7ta 5 Bihar 8,48,63,63 1 6 Chandigarh 3,42,954 Chhatti£m 9 7 33 8 Dadar & la 2,63,375 9 Delhi 72,20,350 10 Goa 4,76,303 11 Gujarat 3,36,90 ,403 12 Harvana ,26,49,000 1 13 Himachal Pradesh 28,54,661 14 Jammu and Kashmir 67,47, 172 15 Jharkhand 2,62,91 , 129 16 Karnataka 4,0 ,93,243 1 17 Kerala 1 ,50,65, 170 18 Ladakh 1 , 13,803 19 Lakshadwee 20 095 , 20 Madhya Pradesh 5,38,07, 137 MaharA 21 6,81 ,42,337 22 Manipur 21, 10,378 23 Meghala\,a 21 ,36,855 24 Mizoram 7,06,000 25 Nagaland 11,35,570 26 C)(lim 3,23,78,964 27 Puduchert 6,34 ,000 28 Pun aja mb 1 ,4 1 ,5 1 ,000 29 Raj 4,39,80,284 sikH 30 3,76,580 31 Tamil Nadu 3,64,70,000 32 Telangana ,90,80,02 1 1 33 Tripura 23,34 ,864 34 Uttarakhand 60,23 384 , 35 Uttar Pradesh 14,71,47,428 36 West Bengal 5,99,75,666 Total 79,40,02,6]L4