Parliament Question: NFSA 2013

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6184 TO BE ANSWERED ON IsT APRIL, 2026 NFSA 2013 6184. DR. AMOL FLAMSING KOLHE: SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE: PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD: SMT. SUPRIYA SULE: SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL: SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a): whether the Government has assessed the status of Aadhaar seeding of ration cards under the National Food Security Act, 2013 in Maharashtra and the percentage of ration cards in the State that have been successfully linked with Aadhaar as of January 2026; (b): whether the Government is aware of any cases where genuine beneficiaries in Maharashtra particularly in tribal and backward districts such as Gadchiroli, Nandurbar and Palghar have faced denial or delay in receiving foodgrains due to Aadhaar authentication failures, network issues or technical errors; (c): if so, the steps taken by the Government to ensure de-duplication of ration cards without affecting genuine beneficiaries in the said State; (d): the details of the measures being adopted by the Union Government to issue new ration cards to eligible households and maintain accurate beneficiary lists; and (e): whether monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms have been strengthened in Maharashtra to prevent exclusion or denial offoodgrain entitlements under NFSA and PMGKAY; and (f): if so, the details thereon ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a) : Yes, the Government continuously reviews the status ofAadhaar Seeding of Ration Cards. As on date, 99.99% of Ration Cards have been Aadhaar Seeded in the State of Maharashtra. (b): State Government of Maharashtra have reported that no such case has been identified in Gadchiroli, Nandurbar and Palghar districts. Further, the Government has already advised all States/UTs vide letter dated 24/10/2017 that no genuine beneficiary/ household shall be deniedfrom receiving entitled quota of subsidized foodgrains due to failure of biometric/ Aadhaar authentication due to network/ connectivity/ linking related issues, other technical reasons or poor biometrics of the beneficiary. (c) to (d): Vide Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015, all States/ UTs have been mandated to regularly review the list of beneficiaries by removing ineligible people, adding eligible ones and doing e-KYC every 5 years; temporarily disable Ration Cards of inactive/ duplicate beneficiaries. (e) to (f): The Government has 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 (including Maharashtra). In addition, Anna Sahayata (ASHA) has been introduced as an AI-enabled grievance redressal platform leveraging WhatsApp and IVRS channels, enabling beneficiaries to lodge complaints and provide feedback in their preferred regional languages. The IVlera 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. Beneficiaries can flag their grievances online on the State portal (http://rcms.mahafood.gov.in). Further, monitoring has also been strengthened through integration with the CPGRAMS platform, 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 have strengthened grievance redressal mechanisms in country (including Maharashtra). +iSc +: +: Scie