Parliament Question: PDS in Western Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4066 TO BE ANSWERED ON j2TH AUGUST, 2026 PDS IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH 4066 SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has received complaints regarding irregularities in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Western Uttar Pradesh; and (b) if so, the details of action taken by the Government to ensure transparency and timely distribution offoodgrains? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a): The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State/ Union Territory (UT) Governments. The Central Government is responsible for procurement, allocation and transportation of foodgrains up to the designated depots of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The operational responsibilities for allocation of foodgrains within the States/ UTs, identification of eligible beneficiaries, issuance of ration cards to them, distribution offoodgrains to eligible beneficiaries under TPDS, issuance of license to Fair Price Shop dealers, supervision over and monitoring of functioning ofFPSs, etc., rests with the concerned State/ UT Governments. Helpline number 1967/1800-State series number is operational in all the States/ UTs hr contacting and redressal of the complaints in the Public Distribution System and filing any type of complaints by the intended beneficiaries. Accordingly, as and when any type of complaints/ grievances related to TPDS are received in this Department from any source, they are sent to the concerned State/ UT Governments for inquiry and appropriate action. The Government of Uttar Pradesh has reported that a total of 16390 complaints regarding irregularities in the PDS were received. Out of 16390 complaints, 12933 complaints have been investigated and disposed of as per rules.(b): The steps taken by the Government for ensuring transparency and timely distribution in the Public Distribution System (PDS) are as follows: 1. Digitisation & Aadhaar seeding: Ration cards/beneficiary database 100% digitised in all States/UTs; 99.7tY, of ration cards Aadhaar-seeded, eliminating ineligible/duplicate cards. 11. Transparency & grievance redressal: Transparency portals and online grievance redressal/toll-free helplines operational in all States/UTs. 111. Online allocation & supply chain computerisation: Online allocation implemented in all States/UTs; supply chain computerised in 31 States/UTs (except Chandigarh, Puducherl-y and urban Dadra & Nagar Haven, 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. Vl . 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 landholdirtlg cases) and 2.35 Cr deleted beneficiaries. Vll. 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. Vlll. NIRMAL & SAKSHAM: New initiatives under the SARTHAK PDS Umbrella Scheme (2026–3 1) aimed at strengthening data architecture/analytics (NIRMAL) and real-time data integration (including VLTS) from Procurement of food grains to Distribution to the beneficiaries (Saksham). qc legeR qc