Parliament Question: NFSA and PMGKAY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 622 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22ND JULY, 2026 NFSA AND PMGKAY 622. SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN: SHRI BENNY BEHANAN: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) the number of beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) as on 30.06.2026, State/UT-wise; (b) whether free foodgrains under PMGKAY have been extended beyond the year 2024 and if so, the financial implication thereof; (c) whether any States have reported exclusion of eligible beneficiaries due to Aadhaar seeding issues and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to ensure portability under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a): The State/UT wise details of beneficiaries covered under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PIVIGKAY) are at Annexure. (b): Yes, the period for distribution of free of cost foodgrains under PMGKAY has been extended for five years from 1 st January, 2024, with an estimated financial outlay of Rs. 1 1.80 lakh crore totally to be borne by Central Government. (c): Under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments, the responsibility for identification of beneficiaries and issuance of ration cards within the coverage determined hr the State/UT rest with the concerned States/UTsThe Central Government has issued advisories to all the States/Union Territories from time to time to identify all eligible and poor persons/ households including vulnerable Sections of Society for inclusion under the NFSA. States undertake updation of their beneficiary database so that ineligible ration cards get deleted and better targeting of rightful beneficiaries is ensured. Thus, deletion of ineligible beneficiaries and addition of eligible beneficiaries under the Act is a continuous process. Further, all States/UTs have been advised that no genuine beneficiary or household shall be denied from receiving entitled quota of subsidized foodgrains only for want of Aadhaar or due to failure of biometric/Aadhaar authentication due to network/connectivity/linking related issues, other technical reasons, or poor biometrics of the beneficiary. (d): The nationwide portability of ration cards is popularly known as the One Nation One RatIon Card (ONORC) feature. Through this technology driven reform, approximately 80 Crore PMGKAY beneficiaries are empowered to lift their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice, anywhere in the country, by using their same existing ration card with biometric authentication on an electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device. Currently, ONORC feature is enabled in all 36 States/UTs, across the country, covering almost 100% PMGKAY beneficiaries. As on date, more than 221 Crore portability transactions (including migrant labourers) have been recorded under ONORC Se St SeRgeANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 622 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 22.07.2026 REGARDING “NFSA AND PMGKAY” State/UT wise number of beneficiaries as on 16.07.2026 Sr. No. State Name Number of Beneficiaries ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS 59,988 2 ANDHRA PRADESH 2,68,23,000 3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 8,40,762 4 ASSAM 2,48,97,059 5 BIHAR 8,23,50, 967 6 CHANDIGARH 3,23,2, 1 4 7 CHHATTISGARH 2,00,77,000 8 DADAR & NAGAR HAVELI & DAMAN & DIU 2,63, 163 9 DELHI 72,03,498 10 GOA 4,3 1,674 11 GUJARAT 3,38,42,935 12 HARYANA 1 ,26,49,000 13 HIMACHAL PRADESH 28,40,796 14 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 68,28,991 15 JHARKHAND 2,63 , 37,662 16 KARNATAKA 4,01,93,000 17 KERALA 1, 52,89,2D 18 LADAKH 1,11,941 19 LAKSHADWEEP 20,053 20 MADHYA PRADESH 5,41 , 10,z+h 21 MAHARASHTRA 6,77,23,996 22 MANIPUR 21 ,09,004 MEGHALAYA 2 3 2 1,25,oIB 24 MIZORAM 7,06.000 25 NAGALAN D 11, 12,356 g 26 ODISHA 27 PUDUCHERRY 6,34,000 28 PUNJAB 1 ,4 1 ,51,o(h 29 RAJASTHAN 4,38,43,9:h 30 SIKKIM 3,76,878 31 TAMIL NADU 3,62,23,350 32 TELANGAN A 1,91,58, 121 3 3 TRIPURA 23,37,977 34 UTTARAKH AND 60,05,96 35 UTTAR PRADESH 14,66,97, 1 (b 36 WEST BENGAL 6,oo,05,2zR Total 79,08,97,30