Lok Sabha Question No. 5416 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Challenges in Public Distribution System
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri K C Venugopal

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5416

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25Tll MARCH, 2026

## CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

## 5416.  SHRI KC  VENUGOPAL:

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

- (a): whether the Government has assessed exclusion errors and portability  challenges  under the Public Distribution System  in the country with special reference to Kerala;
- (b): if  so, the number of beneficiaries affected, State-wise including  Kerala;
- (c): whether One Nation One Ration Card implementation is fully  effective in the country and if so, the data on its effectiveness thereof,  State-wise; and
- (d) : the details of the steps taken by the Government to ensure food security for migrant and vulnerable populations?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI  BAMBHANIYA)

(a) &  (b):  The Targeted Public Distribution  System (TPDS), governed under the National Food Security Act  (NFSA), 2013, operates  under the joint  responsibility of the Central and State/UT Governments. The operational responsibilities relating to identification of eligible beneficiaries and families,  issuance and management of ration  cards, and updation  of beneficiary  databases rest with the respective State/UT Governments.

In  order to  support States/UTs in  improving the accuracy of  beneficiary databases and addressing issues of  inclusion  and exclusion  errors, the  Department of  Food and Public Distribution has undertaken a Rightful Targeting exercise using data analytics and crossverification  of beneficiary data with multiple  external databases of other Ministries/Departments, including CBDT, GSTN/CBIC, MCA, MoRTH (Vahan), and Aadhaar (deceased), along with internal parameters such as silent and duplicate records. Based on this  exercise, approximately 8.51 crore  beneficiaries were flagged across States£UTs for verification.  Subsequent field-level verification by  States/UTs has led to removal of  about 2.21 crore ineligible  beneficiaries by States/UTs, thereby enabling improved  targeting of  genuinely eligible  households, including  in the State of Kerala. State/UT-wise  details  are placed at Annexure-I.

With regard to portability, the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) system has been fully  implemented across all 36 States/UTs, enabling nationwide portability  of ration cards. The ONORC facility  is available to all PIVIGKAY beneficiaries, allowing them to lift  their entitled foodgrains from  any Fair Price Shop across the country  through Aadhaar-based  authentication. The successful nationwide rollout and widespread usage of ONORC have addressed portability challenges and ensured seamless access to  foodgrains  for  beneficiaries,  particularly  migrant populations.

(c) &  (d): The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme is a technology-driven initiative of the Department of Food and Public Distribution  to enable nationwide portability  of ration cards for beneficiaries covered under the National  Food Security Act (NFSA).

The ONORC facility  has been implemented in  all 36 States/Union Territories, covering around 80 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri  Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Under this system, beneficiaries can lift  their entitled  foodgrains from  any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country using their existing ration card with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication on electronic Point of  Sale (ePoS) devices.

The system particularly  benefits migrant workers and other mobile populations by ensuring seamless access to  subsidized  foodgrains  irrespective  of  their  location. It  operates through integration of  ration  card databases of  all  States/UTs and interoperable ePoS devices at FPSs. A statement showing the number of inter-State portability  transactions recorded during the last two years is placed at Annexure-II.

Seesesq See

## Rightful Targeting

| Sr No.      | State Name                         | Flagged Cases   | Deleted by States/UTs   | Retained by States/UTs   | Total Actions q/o by States   |
|-------------|------------------------------------|-----------------|-------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
| 1           | GUJARAT                            | 55,09,230       | 15, 17,734              | 42,84,766                | 100.00%                       |
| 2           | KERALA                             | 19,21,831       | 85,788                  | 18,09,058                | 98.60%                        |
| 3           | RAJASTHAN                          | 75,68,053       | 16,67,678               | 56,87,645                | 97.19%                        |
| 4           | ODISHA                             | 49,27,086       | 5,28,099                | 41,08,592                | 94.11%                        |
| 5           | ANDHRA PRADESH                     | 37,90,41 8      | 3,21,157                | 30,43,946                | 88.78%                        |
| 6           | CHHATTISGARH                       | 33,36,534       | 2,93,521                | 23,07,675                | 77.96%                        |
| 7           | UTTAR PRADESH                      | 54,80,518       | 22,77,303               | 17,32,339                | 73.16%                        |
| 8           | TRIPURA                            | 1 ,05,000       | 51,807                  | 20,153                   | 68.53%                        |
| 9           | LAKSHADWEEP                        | 6,084           | 4,012                   |                          | 65.94%                        |
| 10          | HARYANA                            | 3 1 ,64,507     | 20,03,743               | 1                        | 63.32%                        |
| 11          | KARNATAKA                          | 7,61 ,689       | 4,26,3 15               | 54,342                   | 63.10%                        |
| 12          | BIHAR                              | 54,20,773       | 13,46,788               | 14,54,077                | 51.67%                        |
| 13          | PUNJAB                             | 22, 1 1,899     | 2,66,548                | 7,94,297                 | 47.96%                        |
| 14          | TELANGANA                          | 4,95,795        | 1 ,39,718               | 79,998                   | 44.32%                        |
| 15          | MAHARASHTRA                        | 7               | 4                       | m                        | 41.90%                        |
| 16          | ANDAMAN ANDNICOBAR ISLANDS         | 971             | 137                     | 267                      | 41.61%                        |
| 17          | AS SAM                             | 35,95,862       | 12,94,024               | 25                       | 35.99%                        |
| 18          | TAMIL NADU                         | 10,46,675       | 2,10,814                | 1,28,195                 | 32.39%                        |
| 19          | WEST BENGAL                        | 17,29,802       | 3,57,390                | 1,86,612                 | 31.45%                        |
| 20          | JHARKHAND                          | 0               | a9                      | U6                       | 26.06%                        |
| 21          | Dadar & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu | 52,265          | 8,689                   | 9                        | 16.64%                        |
| 22          | MADHYA PRADESH                     | 73,85,254       | 9,26,882                | 2,15,687                 | 15.47%                        |
| 23          | HIMACHALPRADESH                    | 5,32,435        | 25,357                  | 55,324                   | 15.15%                        |
| 24          | UTTARAKHAND                        | 8,53,703        | 74,414                  | 41 ,253                  | 13.55%                        |
| 27          | SIKKIM                             | 38,134          | 4,411                   | 400                      | 12.62%                        |
| 28          | CHANDIGARH                         | 61,481          | 7,457                   |                          | 12.13%                        |
| 29          | DELHI                              | 8, 14,258       | 80,420                  |                          | 9.88%                         |
| 30          | NAGALAND                           | 3,08,904        | 23,799                  | 2                        | 7.70%                         |
| 31          | GOA                                | 49,279          | 3,312                   |                          | 6.72%                         |
| 32 J        | MIZORAM                            | 1 ,72,241       | 8,669                   | 7                        | 5.04%                         |
| 33          | PUDUCHERRY                         | 3 1,002         | 1,342                   |                          | 4.33%                         |
| 34          | LADAKH                             | 19,229          | 618                     | 1                        | 3.22%                         |
| 35          | JAMMUANDKASHMIR                    | 10,67,961       | 28,665                  | no                       | 2.97%                         |
| 36          | MANIPUR                            | 5,66,437        | 15,540                  |                          | 2.74%                         |
| 37          | MEGHALAYA                          | 49,455          | 1,317                   |                          | 2.66%                         |
| 38          | ARUNACHALPRADESH                   | 1 ,67,926       | 30                      |                          | 0.02%                         |
| Grand Total |                                    | 8,5 1,57,242    | 2,21,16,115             | 2,64,32, 181             | 57.01%                        |

## Annexure-I

## State wise inter-State portability transactions recorded during  the last two years

| Sr. No.   | State / UT                       | 2024       | 2025      |
|-----------|----------------------------------|------------|-----------|
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar Islands        | 340        | 162       |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                   |            | 159       |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                | 3          |           |
| 4         | Assam                            | 423        | 766       |
| 5         | Bihar                            | 53,521     | 84,747    |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh                     | 3,892      | 8,131     |
| 7         | Dadra& Nagar Haveli & Daman& Diu | 1 ,02, 189 | 1,03,028  |
| 8         | Delhi                            | 49,75, 113 | 58,11,947 |
| 9         | Goa                              | 20,725     | 30, 127   |
| 10        | Gujarat                          | 1 ,98,559  | 2,11,316  |
| 11        | Haryana                          | 7,09,555   | 9,33,610  |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                 | 1 , 17,600 |           |
| 13        | Jammu& Kashmir                   | 74,094     | 81,350    |
| 14        | Jharkhand                        | 21 ,942    | 25,666    |
| 15        | Karnataka                        |            |           |
| 16        | Kerala                           | 30,805     | 38,250    |
| 17        | Ladakh                           | 302        | 92        |
| 18        | Lakshadweep                      |            |           |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh                   | 58,836     | 58,367    |
| 20        | Maharashtra                      | 6,70,750   | 8,74,642  |
| 21        | Meghalaya                        | 149        | 221       |
| 22        | Mizoram                          |            |           |
| 23        | Nagaland                         | 7          |           |
| 24        | Odisha                           | 55         |           |
| 25        | Punjab                           | 13,836     | 47, 145   |
| 26        | Rajasthan                        | 1 ,48,770  | 2,35,454  |
| 27        | Sikkim                           | 1,271      | 1,044     |
| 28        | Tamil Nadu                       | 4,6 18     | 1 ,290    |
| 29        | Telangana                        | 60,454     | 71 ,038   |
| 30        | Tripura                          | 5,192      | 5,494     |
| 31        | Uttar Pradesh                    | 165        | 636       |
| 32        | Uttarakhand                      | 1,56,241   | 1,85,573  |
|           | West Bengal                      | 46,439     | 75,010    |
|           | Grand Total                      | 74,75,848  | 88,85,266 |