Lok Sabha Question No. 4289 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-28
Subject: Mandatory Aadhaar Cards
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: BALKA SUMAN, RAKESH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4289

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th  MARCH, 2017

## MANDATORY AADHAAR CARDS

4289.

SHRI SUMAN BALKA:

SHRI RAKESH SINGH:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC

DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  in a step to better targeting subsidies  and  checking leakages,  the  Government  has  made  it  mandatory  to  have  an  Aadhaar number for availing benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  including  number  of  beneficiary  households  which  have linked their ration cards with Aadhaar number, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government also plans a cashless PDS to ensure 100 per cent digital payments, if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the linking of Aadhaar with Ration Cards is being done with the purpose of directly transferring the foodgrain subsidy into bank accounts, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether  the  same  is  likely  to  create  problems  for  the  differently abled  and  poor  senior  citizens  in  biometric  identification  due  to  faulty machines, if so, the details of the remedial action taken in this regard?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE FOR  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

(a)  &  (b):  Department  has  issued  a  Notification  on  8.2.2017  under  Aadhaar Act  which  requires  individual  beneficiaries  under  NFSA  to  furnish  proof  of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication to receive subsidies under NFSA (i.e. subsidised food grains or Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy under NFSA). Beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar are required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment by 30 th  June, 2017 to get enrolled. Till  the  Aadhaar is  assigned to the entitlements shall be given to such individuals on production of Ration Card and Aadhaar Enrolment ID slip or copy of his/her request made to State Govt. for Aadhaar enrolment along with  any  of  the  8  documents  e.g.  Voter  ID  Card,  PAN,  Passport,  Driving Licence, Certificate of Identity with photo issued by Gazetted Officer/Tehsildar on official letter head, Address card having name and photo issued  by  Deptt.  of  Posts,  Kisan  Photo  Passbook,  any  other  document  as specified  by  State/UT  Govt.  etc.  The  present  status  of  Aadhaar  seeding  in Ration Cards (State-wise) is enclosed as annexure-I.

- (c):    Department has prepared a detailed roadmap and an action plan alongwith State-wise targets to implement  the  various  modes  of  cashless transactions.  However,  complete  roll  out  of  the  strategy  for  cashless mechanism depends on readiness of the States/UTs, availability of adequate infrastructure, status of financial inclusion, level of  Aadhaar  seeding, awareness level of beneficiaries and telecom coverage etc. Accordingly, all States/UTs Governments have been advised to adopt a phase wise approach, starting  with  Metropolitan  Cities,  Municipal  Corporations,  Municipalities, District Headquarters and other urban areas where the conditions allow for an effective implementation and then eventually expanding it to semi-urban and rural areas.
- (d): The seeding of Aadhaar number with Ration Cards is being done for the  purpose of correct identification  and de-duplication of  beneficiaries  for rightful targeting of food subsidies i.e. removal of ghost/fraudulent/duplicate/ineligible  beneficiaries  as  a  result  of  Aadhaar based de-duplication.
- (e):   The FPS automation involves, installation of Point of Sale (PoS) devices at FPS for authentication of beneficiaries, recording of sales to beneficiaries at the FPS; and uploading of transaction data in central server. Out of 5.26 lakh FPSs across the country, about 1.79 lakh FPSs have been automated so far. The biometric authentication is done through scanning of finger prints or iris  and  there  is  no  denial  of  food  grains  to  an  entitled  beneficiary  due  to faulty ePoS machine.

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## Annex

## ANNEX  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO  4289  TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 TH   MARCH,  2017  IN  LOK SABHA.

Status of Aadhaar Seeding in Ration Cards *

| Sl.   | States/UTs           | Total Ration Cards (Under NFSA)   | Aadhaar Seeding (%)   |
|-------|----------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------|
| 1     | Andaman & Nicobar    | 13,370                            | 97                    |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh       | 94,36,026                         | 100                   |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh    | 1,76,342                          | 44.50                 |
| 4     | Assam                | 57,55,686                         | 0                     |
| 5     | Bihar                | 1,54,01,000                       | 49.27                 |
| 6     | Chandigarh           | 59,402                            | 100                   |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh         | 53,68,000                         | 97                    |
| 8     | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 42,536                            | 94                    |
| 9     | Daman & Diu          | 24,120                            | 100                   |
| 10    | Delhi                | 19,45,358                         | 100                   |
| 11    | Goa                  | 1,38,361                          | 89                    |
| 12    | Gujarat              | 72,30,246                         | 93                    |
| 13    | Haryana              | 29,41,138                         | 91                    |
| 14    | Himachal Pradesh     | 6,99,584                          | 96                    |
| 15    | Jammu and Kashmir    | 15,97,288                         | 62                    |
| 16    | Jharkhand            | 57,56,766                         | 96                    |
| 17    | Karnataka            | 1,05,48,106                       | 98                    |
| 18    | Kerala               | 34,33,036                         | 98                    |
| 19    | Lakshadweep          | 5,110                             | 98                    |
| 20    | Madhya Pradesh       | 1,15,37,855                       | 89                    |
| 21    | Maharashtra          | 1,48,28,050                       | 87                    |
| 22    | Manipur              | 5,17,093                          | 1.28                  |
| 23    | Meghalaya            | 4,21,548                          | 0                     |
| 24    | Mizoram              | 1,43,315                          | 11.86                 |
| 25    | Nagaland             | 2,83,581                          | 6.50                  |
| 26    | Odisha               | 86,13,870                         | 86                    |
| 27    | Puducherry           | 1,62,456                          | 100                   |
| 28    | Punjab               | 36,35,425                         | 97                    |
| 29    | Rajasthan            | 1,02,05,458                       | 95                    |
| 30    | Sikkim               | 96,911                            | 73                    |
| 31    | Tamil Nadu           | 98,29,111                         | 99                    |
| 32    | Telangana            | 49,27,847                         | 100                   |
| 33    | Tripura              | 5,90,117                          | 92.55                 |
| 34    | Uttar Pradesh        | 3,41,20,299                       | 75                    |
| 35    | Uttarakhand          | 13,30,404                         | 90                    |
| 36    | West Bengal          | 6,01,85,092                       | 62                    |
|       | Total                | 23,19,99,907                      | 76.83%                |