Lok Sabha Question No. 3840 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-09
Subject: Identification of Beneficiaries
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: BHARAT SINGH, PANKAJ CHOWDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3840 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 TH  AUGUST, 2016

## IDENTIFICATION OF BENEFICIARIES

3840. SHRI BHARAT SINGH: SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

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  the  Government  has  started  linking  Public  Distribution System (PDS) cards with Aadhaar to control irregularities in the implementation  of  the  said  scheme,  if  so,  the  details  and  the  present status thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is aware of the fact that incidents of nonrecognition of biometric information, poor network connectivity, machine malfunction etc. among others are reported as causes of authentication failure  leading  to  exclusion  of  the  entitled  beneficiaries  from  taking benefit of PDS, if so, the details thereof and the corrective action taken by the Government thereon;
- (c) whether  measures  have  been  taken  to  ensure  infrastructure  and administrative if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  complaints/reports  have  been  received  indicating  that persons without Aadhaar number/enrolment continue to avail PDS benefits,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  therefor  along  with corrective steps proposed in this regard; and
- (e) the steps taken to strengthen PDS in the States?

## A N S W E R

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

(a): All States/UTs have been requested to seed Aadhaar numbers in Ration Card database. At present overall seeding stands at 61.25% at the National level. State-wise progress of Aadhaar seeding is at Annexure.

(b) to (e): Department has asked States/UTs to take adequate measures for efficiently  handling  issues  related  to  bio-metric  authentication  on  e-PoS device.  Department  has  asked  them  to  have  alternate  network  providers, antenna  for poor connectivity etc. for handling such  issues. Further, Department  has  also  issued  instructions to  States/UTs  for  not  denying benefits to beneficiaries for not having Aadhaar or in case of authentication failure. The strengthening and streamlining of TPDS is a continuous process. To  maintain  supplies  and  secure  availability  and  distribution  of  essential commodities under the TPDS, the central Government has notified the PDS control order, 2001. Government has also taken up a plan scheme on 'End-toend  Computerization  of  TPDS  Operations'.  The  National  Food  Security  Act (NFSA),  2013  which  has  come  into  force  with  effect  from  05.07.2013  also prescribes  certain  reforms  in  TPDS  to  be  undertaken  progressively  by  the Central and State/UT Governments. Further, Government has been regularly advising  the  States/UTs  administration  for  continuous  revision  of  lists  of beneficiaries, improving the offtake of allocated foodgrains, ensuring timely availability of foodgrains at Fair Price Shops (FPSs), improve monitoring and vigilance at various levels, adoption of revised model, citizen's charter and improving the viability of FPS operations etc.

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## ANNEXURE ANNEXURE  REFERRED TO IN REPLY PART (a) OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER 3840 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 09.08.2016 IN THE LOK SABHA

## State-wise progress of Aadhaar seeding

|   Sl. | States/UTs          | Aadhaar Seeding in RCs   |
|-------|---------------------|--------------------------|
|     1 | Andaman &Nicobar    | 33%                      |
|     2 | Andhra Pradesh      | 100%                     |
|     3 | Arunachal Pradesh   | 44.5%                    |
|     4 | Assam               | -                        |
|     5 | Bihar               | 0.13%                    |
|     6 | Chandigarh          | 95%                      |
|     7 | Chhattisgarh        | 100%                     |
|     8 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 74%                      |
|     9 | Daman &Diu          | 90%                      |
|    10 | Delhi               | 100%                     |
|    11 | Goa                 | 88%                      |
|    12 | Gujarat             | 74%                      |
|    13 | Haryana             | 89%                      |
|    14 | Himachal Pradesh    | 93%                      |
|    15 | Jammu and Kashmir   | 62%                      |
|    16 | Jharkhand           | 88%                      |
|    17 | Karnataka           | 97%                      |
|    18 | Kerala              | 95%                      |
|    19 | Lakshadweep         | 97%                      |
|    20 | Madhya Pradesh      | 71%                      |
|    21 | Maharashtra         | 87%                      |
|    22 | Manipur             | 0.37%                    |
|    23 | Meghalaya           | -                        |
|    24 | Mizoram             | 0.39%                    |
|    25 | Nagaland            | 0.41%                    |
|    26 | Odisha              | 69%                      |
|    27 | Puducherry          | 95%                      |
|    28 | Punjab              | 94%                      |
|    29 | Rajasthan           | 100%                     |
|    30 | Sikkim              | 69%                      |
|    31 | Tamil Nadu          | 19%                      |
|    32 | Telangana           | 100%                     |
|    33 | Tripura             | 91%                      |
|    34 | Uttar Pradesh       | 48.71%                   |
|    35 | Uttarakhand         | 66%                      |
|    36 | West Bengal         | 57%                      |

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