Lok Sabha Question No. 1839 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Delayed Census and NFSA
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, Dr. Kirsan Namdeo, Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade, Dr. Amar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1839

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30TH JULY, 2025

## DELAYED CENSUS AND NFSA

1839. SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE: DR. AMAR SINGH: DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO: SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY:

Will  the Minister  of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether crores of  citizens have been kept beyond the ambit of  National Food Security Act, 2013 due to delay in the conduction of National Census who are otherwise eligible for the same;
- (b) the steps being taken by the Government to expand the coverage of  people left out for the reasons of  issuance of  New  Ration  Cards;
- (c) whether any estimation has been made of the impact of seeding based on the issuance of Ration Cards and renewal, compulsory KYC and document based verification;
- (d) the number of Ration Cards cancelled or withheld for their not being linked with AADHAAR or for non-fulfillment of formalities involved, year-wise; and
- (e) whether any comprehensive National diet survey is being conducted or  is  proposed to  be conducted in  view  of the  discontinuation of National  Nutrition  Monitoring  Bureau around a decade ago?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a) &  (b): National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 is being successfully implemented in all the States/UTs, aims to supplement the food  requirements of  upto 75% of the rural and upto 50% of the urban population which  at Census 2011 comes to 81.35 crore beneficiaries. Under the NFSA,  while Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)  households, which constitute poorest of the poor are entitled to 35 kg offoodgrains,  per Household per month, Priority Households (PHH) are entitled to 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month at free of cost.

The Coverage under the Act  is substantially high to ensure that all the vulnerable and needy sections of the society get its benefit. The States/UTs have identified only 80.56 crore person, against the intended coverage of  81.35 crore person. Still,  there  is a scope for  identification  of  0.79 crore more beneficiaries, by  the  States/UTs, under the NFSA.  Under the joint responsibility  of  the Centra] and State Government, the responsibility  for  identification  of  beneficiaries and  issuance of  their  ration cards rests with  the concerned State Government. The Central Government issues advisories to all the States/Union Territories from time to time to identify all eligible and  poor  persons/  households including  vulnerable Sections of  the  Society for  inclusion  under the  NFSA.  States are undertaking updation of their beneficiary database  so that ineligible  ration cards get deleted and better targeting of rightful  beneficiaries is ensured.

Section  9 of the National Food Security  Act, 2013 (NFS A) provides  that the total number of persons to  be covered in rural and urban areas of  the State shall be calculated on the basis of the population estimates as per the Census of which the relevant figures have been published. At the time of  implementation of NFSA,  the latest published figures of  Census pertaining to the year 2011 was used to determine the coverage of  all States/Union Territories  (UTs).

Any  revision in coverage shall be possible only  after the  relevant data of  next population Census is published

- (c) &  (d): As an outcome of  use of technology in TDPS operations since 2013, i.e digitization of Ration Card/Beneficiary database &  Aadhar seeding has led to identification  of duplicates, ineligible records, deaths, permanent migration  of  Beneficiary  etc. This  has led all  States/UTs to able to  weedout approx. 5.87 crore ration cards in order to achieve rightful  targeting.
- (e): Indian  Council  of  Medical  Research  has recently  conducted a comprehensive National  Dietary Survey titled  'Survey for  Assessment of  Markers of Population Health, Activity,  Diet and Anthropometry (SAMPADA),  collecting detailed individual  dietary intake data from  about 2  lakh participants from  183 districts across 35 States/UTs (except Manipur).

|       | No. of deleted Ration Cards   |
|-------|-------------------------------|
| 2013  | 4,664,645                     |
| 2014  | 5,20 1 ,280                   |
| 2015  | 5,03 1 ,877                   |
| 2016  | 8,426,329                     |
| 2017  | 6, 13 1,774                   |
| 2018  | 7,374,65                      |
| 2019  | 5,990,446                     |
| 2020  | 2,4 1 9,45 1                  |
| 2021  | 2,902,794                     |
| 2022  | 6,380,274                     |
| 2023  | 4, 199,373                    |
| Total | 58,722,894                    |

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