Parliament Question: PDS and ONORC

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2774 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5TH AUGUST, 2026 PDS AND ONORC 2774 SHRI ASHISH DUBEY: SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) the progress made during the last one year in strengthening the Public Distribution System (PDS) through digital initiatives including the implementation of the 'One Nation One Ration Card' (ONORC) scheme and Aadhaar based authentication; (b) the measures taken by the Government to enhance transparency, portability and efficiency in the distribution of foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFS A); (c) the initiatives undertaken to strengthen end-to-end computerisation, Smart Fair Price Shops and digital tracking offoodgrains movement; (d) whether effective measures have been taken by the Government through these initiatives to curb leakages, ensure portability of benefits and improve access to subsidised foodgrains across the country along with the outcomes thereof; and (e) if so, the details thereon ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a): One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) has been implemented across all 36 States/u'rs, covering 100% PMGKAY beneficiaries. During 2025-26, about 39.34 crore portability transactions were recorded. Cumulatively, over 221 crore portability transactions have been recorded, enabling beneficiaries to seamlessly access their foodgrain entitlements anywhere in the country. Further, Aadhaar-based authentication has been adopted across the Public Distribution System, more than 98.5% of foodgrain distribution presently being carried out through Aadhaar authentication, ensuring transparent delivery of foodgrains to genuine beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS) .(b) to (e): The Government has taken the following measures to enhance transparency, portability, strengthen end-to-end computerisation, and efficiency in the distribution of foodgrailns under the National Food Security Act (NFSA): i. Digitisation & Aadhaar seeding: Ration cards/beneficiary database 100% digitised in all States/UTs; 99.7cYo of ration cards Aadhaar-seeded, eliminating ineligible/duplicate cards. ii. Transparency & grievance redressal: Transparency portals and online grievance redressal/toll- free helplines operational in all States/UTs. iii. Online allocation & supply chain computerisation: Online allocation implemented in all States/UTs; supply chain computerised in 31 States/UTs (except Chandigarh, Puducherry and urban Dadra & Nagar Haveli, which have adopted DBT Cash Transfer). iv. ePoS-based Aadhaar authentication at FPS level: 5.50 lakh (99.8%) of 5.51 lakh Fair Price Shops automated with ePoS devices, ensuring biometric authentication of beneficiaries at the point of distribution and curbing diversion. v. One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC): Nationwide portability implemented across all 36 States/UTs, covering all PMGKAY beneficiaries; over 221 crore portability transactions recorded to date, reducing exclusion and duplicate entitlement claims. vi. Rightful Targeting (RT): A dedicated de-duplication and beneficiary-verification exercise using Aadhaar/PDS data analytics has led to identification and deletion of ineligible/duplicate beneficiaries, with 5.95 Cr flagged beneficiaries (excluding landholding cases) and 2.35 Cr deleted beneficiaries, vii. SMART-PDS reform initiative: Being implemented with modules for Ration Card Management, Distribution, Supply Chain and Grievance Redressal to further standardise and digitally integrate State-level TPDS operations. viii. NIRMAL & SAKSHAM: New initiatives under the SARTHAK PDS Umbrella Scheme (2026–3 1) aimed at strengthening data architecture/analytics (NIRIVIAL) and real-time data integration (including VLTS) from Procurement of food grains to Distribution to the beneficiaries (Saksham). 88+++