Parliament Question: Review of NFSA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 364 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3RD FEBRUARY, 2026 REVIEW OF NFSA 364 SHRI A. A. RAHIM: Will the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution be pleas,ed to state : (a): the number of households identified under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFS A) whose ration-cards were cancelled or suspended across States during the last five years, year-wIse; (b): the number of biometric authentication failures, server downtime incidents or other digital-verification glitches at fair-price-shops (FPS) that led to denial or delay of food- grains to entitled beneficiaries, State-wise; (c): whether any review has been conducted on how certification, exclusion errors or rollout of new mechanisms have affected access for marginalised communities; and (d): if not, whether Government is ready to conduct a review? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a): Ration cards are cancelled or suspended by the respective State/UT Governments as part of their statutory responsibility under the NFS A, based on verification and updating of beneficiary databases. The major reasons for cancellation include identification of duplicate ration cards, ineligible beneficiaries as per State-specific exclusion criteria, e-KYC mismal:ches, deaths of beneficiaries, and permanent migration. As a result of end-to-end digitisation and database cleansing measures undertaken by States/UTs, 2.49 crore ration cards have been weeded out across the country during the period 2020 to 2025 to ensure rightful targeting under NFS A. A statement showing the year-wise number of deleted ration cards, as reported by States/UTs, is placed at Annexure. (b) to (d): No State-wise reports of denial of foodgrains to entitled beneficiaries due to biometric authentication failure, server downtime, or other digital verification issues have been received in this Department. All States/UTs have been consistently advised that no beneficiary or household shall be denied their entitled quantity of foodgrains on account of biometric or Aadhaar authentication failure arising from network connectivity issues, technical reasons, Aadhaar seeding issues, or poor biometric quality. States/UTs have been instructed to folllowthe prescribed alternative and exception-handling mechanisms to ensure uninterrupted access to foodgrains. While no separate, standalone review has been conducted specifically on the impact of certification processes, exclusion errors, or the rollout of new mechanisms on access for marginalised communities, the Department continuously monitors implementation feedback received from States/UTs, as well as inputs from field assessments undertaken under initiatives such as Aspirational Districts visits. Further, under the National Food Security Act, 2013, the operational responsibilities relating to allocation of foodgrains within States/UTs, identification of eligible beneficiaries, and supervision and monitoring of Fair Price Shops rest with the respective State/UT Governments. The Department remains responsive to feedback received from various stakeholders and, in coordination with States/UTs, takes corrective measures wherever required to strengthen inclusion and ensure that eligible beneficiaries continue to receive their entitlements without disruption. 888#8An lnexu re States/UTs-wise deleted Ration Cards (2020-25) SI. State/UT 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 1 Andhra Pradesh U4 a3 30, 94,232 02 09 Ea,681 Andaman And 2 431 196 950 47 512 102 Nicobar Islands Arunachal 3 1,151 328 268 1,128 Pradesh Assam 21,291 11,120 38.590 1 ,61,516 24,381 Bihar 09 15 4,49, 525 16,86,266 1 ,49,043 Chandigarh 2,291 207 2,401 Chhattisgarh a5 HO 29,108 57,371 tO,496 Dadar& Nagar 8 Haveli & Daman 5,840 2,454 73 151 1,101 & Diu 9 Delh 518 448 116 3,686 61 ,292 11 ,438 10 Goa 148 805 2,117 5,801 166 a3, .467 09 Guiarat W1 1 ,32,519 1 ,35,362 30,889 1 02 W Haryana 9 4 2 3,474 Himachal 13 4,376 2,538 3,299 7,551 9,673 7,400 Pradesh Jammu And 14 13,224 33,677 2,927 5,403 4,767 3, 036 Kashmir Jharkhand 65,234 75,137 29,771 6,374 67,730 Karnataka 31 ,753 42,558 48,477 74,401 27, 105 50,594 Kerala a2 1.04,511 41 ,998 40,800 11,555 7,261 Ladakh 614 30 58 615 764 Lakshadweep 7 33 38 89 88 32 Madhya Pradesh 1 ,65,829 9,93,704 98, 186 4,96,092 7,04,848 2,60,285 Maharashtra 1 ,31 ,986 36,119 1 ,44,985 2,01 ,676 1 ,74, 342 1 ,33,469 Manipur 45,321 U1 30,493 9,684 7,215 6, 515 Meghalaya 16 402 1 ,612 449 102 Mizoram 1 ,443 U6 3,617 4,115 2,548 742 W Nagaland 3,428 3, 177 3,924 1 ,347 Odisha 64, 122 31 ,240 19,420 1 ,21 , 134 27 Puducherry 1 ,881 1 ,731 538 847 898 763 Punjab 1 ,79,837 3,305 1 ,52,497 1 ,23,722 7,520 2,290 Rajasthan 5,80,241 W3 2,65,390 26,386 1 ,03,444 6.05, 826 Sikkim 6,981 458 604 2,1 16 l––7iF5–––I B3 Tamil Nadu 0 86, 150 63,905 33,339 32 Telangana 12, 154 4,988 34,064 +3,424 1 ,40 ,947 33 Tripura 1 ,099 1 ,100 1 ,254 800 467 4, 334 34 Uttar Pradesh W5 7,19,213 9,99, 100 7,00,138 8,41 ,123 5,97,012 35 Uttarakhand 49,712 66,627 9.691 4,589 3,014 West Bengal 59,666 2,93,326 6,47,003 + 7,56, 860 5,09,952 3,74,519 + Total 24,1 9,451 29,02,794 63,80,274 41 ,99,373 48,85,259 41 ,4'1 ,385