Lok Sabha Question No. 3396 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Aadhaar Seeding in Ration Cards
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: K. Jayakumar

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9TH AUGUST, 2023

## AADHAAR  SEEDING IN RATION CARDS

## 3396.  DR. K. JAYAKUMAR:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER  AFFAIRS, FOOD  AND  PUBLIC DiSTRiBUTiON aqqt€m qTq&, urn at  WTbIfbr fq7wr tHt be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the status of Aadhaar seeding in Ration Cards in the country;
- (b) whether ration cards are being cancelled in the country due to nonpossession of Aadhaar ID or failure in biometric authentication;
- (C) if so, the details of rationale behind the cancellation of Ration Cards;
- (d) whether the Government is cognizant of the starvation death incidents reported due to denial of foodgrains as the victims failed to link Aadhaar to Ration Cards; and
- (e) if so, the details of actions taken to avoid such incidents?

ANSWER INISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

- (a): Presently, 99.7% ration  cards  are Aadhaar seeded in  the  country. State-wise detail  is attached  as Annexure-l.

(b) to (e): This  Department has extended the  timeline  given to  the States/UTs, under the Notification  dated 08/02/2017 (as amended from time to time) issued in exercise of Section-7 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, for completing the Aadhaar seeding of ration cards up to  30/09/2023H Until then, all States/UTs  have been advised  that no genuine beneficiary/household shall be deleted from the list  of eligible ration cards/ beneficiaries and shall not be denied their entitled quota of foodgrains under NFSA only for want  of Aadhaar number or only on the ground of not possessing an Aadhaar number, failure of biometrio authentication due to network/ connectivity/ linking issues or any other technical reasons etc.

However, as per the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) Control Order 2015, the  review of  ration  cards/beneficiaries listl identification of  ineligible/ duplicate ration cards and inclusion of genuine eligible beneficiaries/households is  the  responsibility of  the  concerned State/UT Government, and the benefit of deleted ration cards is utilized by States/UTs for  targeting/addition of new beneficiaries/ration cards subject to State/UT wise ceiling on coverage under National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, This  Department has time-to-time conveyed instructions / communications to  States/UTs for  de-duplication of  beneficiaries / ration cards. Further, there  is no report of starvation  deaths from any States/UTs. Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)1 w.e.f. 1't January 2023 free of cost foodgrains are being provided to around 80 crore

NFSA beneficiaries as per their entitlements for a period of one year.

States/UTs have been advised to  undertake proper verification (including field verification) of each identified case to ensure that ration cards of genuine beneficiaries  are not deleted/ suspendedn Accordingly, the State/UT Governments periodically review their lists of ration card holders to weed out potentially ineligible, duplicate/fake beneficiaries / ration cards from their respective systems, after proper verification as  per their prescribed norms.  Further,  States/UTs continuously review  the beneficiaries list and  issue  new  ration  cards  to the  eligible households/beneficiaries  in place of duplicate / cancelled beneficiaries / ration cards under the prescribed ceiling limit of the National Food Security

Act (NFSA), to achieve the rightful  targeting of subsidised foodgrains.

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## Annexure-I

## ANNEXURE  REFERED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  UNSTARRED QUESION NO.3396 FOR ANSWER ON 09.08.2023 IN THE LOK SABHA

| State-wise Details of Ration Cards and Aadhaar Seedin.   | State-wise Details of Ration Cards and Aadhaar Seedin.   | State-wise Details of Ration Cards and Aadhaar Seedin.   | State-wise Details of Ration Cards and Aadhaar Seedin.   | State-wise Details of Ration Cards and Aadhaar Seedin.   |
|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                          | States/UTs                                               | o in Central System                                      | Aadhaar                                                  | %Seeding of Ration Cards                                 |
|                                                          | Andaman and Nicobar Island                               | 1                                                        |                                                          | 100%                                                     |
| 2                                                        | Andhra Pradesh                                           | 9                                                        |                                                          | 100%                                                     |
| 3                                                        | Arunachal Pradesh+                                       | 1,80,563                                                 | 1 ,54,521                                                | 86%                                                      |
| 4                                                        | Assam                                                    | 56,29,116                                                | 55,92,065                                                | 99%                                                      |
| 5                                                        | Bihar                                                    | 1,79,00,5 1 1                                            | 1,79,00,5 1 1                                            | 100%                                                     |
| 6                                                        | Chandigarh                                               | 72,119                                                   | 71,815                                                   | 100%                                                     |
| 7                                                        | Chhattisgarh                                             | 53,00,590                                                | 52,98,626                                                | 100%                                                     |
| 8                                                        | Dadra & NH andDaman Diu                                  | 58,020                                                   | 58,020                                                   | 100%                                                     |
| 9                                                        | Delhi                                                    | 17,83 ,280                                               | 17,83,280                                                | 100%                                                     |
| 10                                                       | Goa                                                      | 1 ,30,676                                                | 1 ,28,810                                                | 99%                                                      |
| 11                                                       | Gujarat                                                  | 76,12,435                                                | 76,06,855                                                | 100%                                                     |
| 12                                                       | Haryana                                                  | 34,71 ,028                                               | 34,71 ,028                                               | 100%                                                     |
| 13                                                       | Himachal Pradesh                                         | 7,55,122                                                 | 7,53,409                                                 | 100%                                                     |
| 14                                                       | Jammu & Kashmir                                          | 16,59,893                                                | 16,59,876                                                | 100%                                                     |
| 15                                                       | Jharkhand                                                | 60,71 ,468                                               | 60, 17,704                                               | 99%                                                      |
| 16                                                       | Karnataka                                                | 1,13,84,605                                              | 1 ,13,84,605                                             | 100%                                                     |
| 17                                                       | Kerala                                                   | 41 ,38,490                                               | 41 ,38,484                                               | 100%                                                     |
| 18                                                       | Ladakh                                                   | 29,533                                                   | 29,533                                                   | 100%                                                     |
| 19                                                       | Lakshadweep+                                             | 4,738                                                    | 4,275                                                    | 90%                                                      |
| 20                                                       | Madhya Pradesh                                           | 1 ,25,62,665                                             | 1,25,61 ,445                                             | 100%                                                     |
| 21                                                       | Maharashtra                                              | 1 ,55,25,890                                             | 1 ,55,25,890                                             | 100%                                                     |
| 22                                                       | Manipur                                                  | 5,68,010                                                 | 5,65,119                                                 | 99%                                                      |
| 23                                                       | Meghalaya+                                               | 4,2 1 ,542                                               | 2,36,746                                                 | 56%                                                      |
| 24                                                       | Mizoram                                                  | 1 ,70,002                                                | 1 ,68,941                                                | 99%                                                      |
| 25                                                       | Nagaland#                                                | 3 ,23,449                                                | 3,12,837                                                 | 97%                                                      |
| 26                                                       | Odisha                                                   | 92,91 ,068                                               | 92,5 1,962                                               | 100%                                                     |
| 27                                                       | Puducherry                                               | 1 ,91 ,486                                               | 1 ,91,334                                                | 100%                                                     |

| g                | Punjab           | 38,38,733     | 38,38,281     | 100%   |
|------------------|------------------|---------------|---------------|--------|
|                  | Rajasthan        | 1,07,15,611   | 1 ,07,08,904  | 100%   |
|                  | Sikkim           | 97,716        | 97,439        | 100%   |
| 31               | Tamil Nadu       | 1 ,14,65,491  | 1 , 14,65,442 | 100%   |
| 32               | Telangana        | 54,52,538     | 54,52,538     | 100%   |
| 3 3              | Tripura          | 6,03,175      | 6,03, 123     | 100%   |
| 34               | Uttarakhand      | 13,93 ,357    | 13,93,270     | 100%   |
| 35               | Uttar Pradesh    | 3,60,33,236   | 3,60,30,392   | 100%   |
| 36               | West Bengal      | 1 ,41 ,60,769 | 1 ,39,63,862  | 99%    |
| National Summary | National Summary | 19,80,40,733  | 19,74,64,750  |        |

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