Lok Sabha Question No. 620 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-03
Subject: Verification of Beneficiaries of PMGKAY
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri  Radhakrishna

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 620

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 3RD DECEMBER, 2025

## VERIFICATION  OF BENEFICIARIES OF PMGKAY

## 620. SHRI RADHAKRISHNA:

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

- (a) whether the Government is  planning verification  of  beneficiaries under Pradhan Manta Garib Kalyan Yoj ana (PMGKAY);
- (b) if  so, the details thereof including  the steps taken in this regard; and
- (c) the number of beneficiaries  deleted or declared ineligible, during the last five years, State and year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a) &  (b): The Public  Distribution  System is operated under the joint  responsibility  of the Central and the State/UT Governments. As far  as the operational responsibility is  concerned, which includes allocation within  State/UT, identification  of  eligible  families,  issue of  Ration  Cards, Aadhaar Seeding in  Ration  Cards, distribution of  foodgrains to  eligible  beneficiaries and supervision of  the  functioning  of  Fair  Price  Shops etc., rests with  the  concerned State/UT Governments.

Further, during 2024-25, DFPD  undertook a  comprehensive data analytics exercise wherein multiple KPIs-such  as beneficiaries aged over 100 years, silent ration cards, duplicate ration  cards and beneficiaries below  18 years with  single-member ration  cards-were  applied to the  PDS  database. This database was  also  cross-matched with datasets of other  Ministries (Aadhaar, CBDT, MoRTH, MCA, and CBIC).

.....2/-

This exercise flagged approximate 8.51 Crore beneficiaries (2024 to 2025) and list of these flagged beneficiaries were shared with  the respective State/UTs for  conducting field  verification and to take necessary action  as deemed fit  on these cases. Till  date, the respective States/UTs have deleted 2.12 Crore beneficiaries of the above flagged beneficiaries, thus making space for eligible waitlisted beneficiaries.

(c): As  an outcome of  the use of  technology in  Targeted Public  Distribution  System (TPDS) operations, i.e., digitization  of ration cards/beneficiary databases, Aadhaar seeding,  de-duplication process, identincation  of duplicates, ineligible  records, deaths, permanent migration  of beneficiaries,  etc. all  States/UTs have been able to  weed-out approx. 2.25 crore ration  cards between 2021 to  2025 (till date) in  order to  achieve rightful  targeting.  A  statement showing deleted Ration Cards is at Annexure.

SeRge SeqcSe

## States/UTs-wise  deleted Ration Cards (2021-25)

| Sl.   | State/UT                          | 2021       | 2022       | 2023      | 2024      | 2025(till date)   |
|-------|-----------------------------------|------------|------------|-----------|-----------|-------------------|
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh                    | 13,128     | 30,94,232  | 52,610    | 49,21 5   | 50,681            |
| 2     | AndamanAnd Nicobar Islands        | 196        | 950        | 47        | 512       | 102               |
| a J   | Arunachal Pradesh                 |            | 1,151      | 328       | 268       | 1,128             |
| 4     | Assam                             | 11,120     | 28,590     | 38,590    | 1,61,516  | 24.38 1           |
| 5     | Bihar                             | 15,678     | 1,61 ,809  | 4,49,525  | 16,86,266 | 1,49,043          |
| 6     | Chandigarh                        |            | 684        | 2,291     | 207       | 2,401             |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh                      | 10,400     | 20,715     | 29,108    | 57,371    | 60.496            |
| 8     | Dadar& Nagar Haveli & Darnan& Diu | 2,454      | 73         | 1         | 151       | 1,101             |
| 9     | Delhi                             | 448        | 116        | 3,686     | 61 ,292   | 11.438            |
| 10    | Goa                               | 805        | 2,117      | 5,801     | 166       | 3 ,467            |
| 11    | Gujarat                           | 2,19,151   | 1,32,519   | 1 ,35,362 | 30,889    | 69. 102           |
| 12    | Haryana                           |            | 1 ,96, 174 | 8,49,972  | 3,28,557  | 13,43 ,474        |
| 13    | Himachal Pradesh                  | 2,538      | 3 ,299     | 7,551     | 9,673     | 7,400             |
| 14    | Jammu And Kashmir                 | 33,677     | 2,927      | 5 ,403    | 4,767     | 3 ,036            |
| 15    | Jharkhand                         |            | 75,137     | 29,77 1   | 6,374     | 67,730            |
| 16    | Karnataka                         | 42,558     | 48,477     | 74,401    | 27,105    | 50,594            |
| 17    | Kerala                            | 1,04,5 1 1 | 41 ,998    | 40,800    | 11,555    | 7,261             |
| 18    | Ladakh                            | 614        | 30         | 58        | 615       | 764               |
| 19    | Lakshadweep                       | 33         | 38         | 89        | 88        |                   |
| 20    | N4adhya Pradesh                   | 9,93,704   | 98,186     | 4,96,092  | 7,04,848  | 2,60,285          |
| 21    | Maharashtra                       | 36,119     | 1 ,44,985  | 2,01 ,676 | 1 ,74,342 | 1 ,33 ,469        |
| 22    | Manipur                           | 9,411      | 30,493     | 9,684     | 7,215     | 6,5 15            |
| 23    | Meghalaya                         |            | 402        | 1 ,612    | 449       | 102               |
| 24    | Mizorarn                          | 1,637      | 3,617      | 4,115     | 2,548     | 742               |
| 25    | Nagaland                          |            | 3 ,428     | 3,177     | 3 ,924    | 1,347             |
| 26    | Odisha                            |            | 64, 122    | 3 1 ,240  | 19,420    | 1,21,134          |
| 27    | Puduchemy                         | 1,73 1     | 538        | 847       | 898       | 763               |

## Annexure

SeSc +c  gcSe

| 28   | Punjab        | 3,305     | 1 ,52,497   | 1,23,722   | 7,520      | 2,290      |
|------|---------------|-----------|-------------|------------|------------|------------|
| 29   | Rajasthan     | 1 ,35,283 | 2,65,390    | 26,386     | 1 ,03,444  | 6,om       |
| 30   | Sikkim        |           | 458         |            | 604        | 2,m        |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu    | 2,00,942  | 86,150      | 73,875     | 63,905     | 33 , j3    |
| 32   | Telangana     |           | 4,988       | 34,064     | 3 ,424     | 1 ,40,947  |
| 33   | Tripura       | 1,100     | 1,254       | 800        | 467        | 4,.334     |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh | 7,19,213  | 9,99, 100   | 7,00,138   | 8,41 , 123 | 5,97,01 2  |
| 35   | Uttarakhand   | 49,712    | 66,627      | 9,691      | 4,589      | 3 ,014     |
| 36   | West Bengal   | 2,93,326  | 6,47,003    | 7,56,860   | 5,09,952   | 3,74,5 19  |
|      | Total         | 29,02,794 | 63,80,274   | 41,99,373  | 48,85,259  | 41 ,41,385 |