Lok Sabha Question No. 1779 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Beneficiaries of PMGKAY
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Sudama Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1779

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10TH DECEMBER, 2025

## BENEFICIARIES OF PMGKAY

## 1779. SHRI SUDAMA PRASAD:

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

- (a) the details of the criteria being used to determine ineligibility  of beneficiaries  under the PMGKAY  as per the data shared by the Income Tax Department;
- (b) the details of beneficiaries of the scheme and the details of the estimated number of beneficiaries likely  to be removed from  the scheme, State/district-wise;
- (c) the details of the measures taken by the Government to prevent wrongful  exclusion of eligible beneficiaries ;
- (d) whether any grievance redressal mechanism has been made available for  those wrongly classified  as  ineligible under  the  income  verification and  also  the  alternative measures which are put in place to address the same;
- (e) if  so, the details thereof and if  not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) whether the Government has constituted any committee to assess the impact on vulnerable households under the stated exclusion process and if so, the details thereon

## ANSWER

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

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a) to  (c): Under Section 10 of  the National Food Security Act  (NFS A),  2013, the responsibility for  identifying eligible  and ineligible households rests entirely with  the State/UT Governments. As per Section 10(1), each State/UT is required to frame its own inclusion and exclusion guidelines and identify  Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)  and Priority  Households (PHH)  within  the coverage limits  determined under the Act.  Further,

Section 10(2) mandates that  States/UTs must periodically review and update their beneficiary lists in accordance with  these guidelines. Accordingly, the statutory authority for identification, validation, and updation of NFS A  beneficiaries  lies exclusively with the respective State/UT Governments. In order to support States/UTs in improving  the accuracy of  beneficiary databases, the  Department undertook an  analytical exercise wherein PMGKA Y beneficiary data was cross-matched with datasets of other Ministries/Departments such as CBDT,  CBIC, MCA,  UIDAI  (Aadhaar), and MoRTH (Vahan), in  addition to  internal parameters such as  silent  cards, duplicate cards, beneficiaries aged above 100 years, single-member AAY households, etc. Based on this multi-layered  analysis, 8.51 crore beneficiaries were flagged for field-level  verification.

States/UTs have been advised to  carry  out  re-verification  of  these flagged cases strictly in  accordance with their notified inclusion/exclusion  criteria.  Any decision regarding retention, deletion, or correction of  beneficiary records is taken only  after such verification by the respective  State/UT  Governments. No beneficiary  is  removed automatically or without due process. As reported by the States/UTs, 2.12 crore of the flagged beneficiaries have been deleted after verification,  thereby enabling the  inclusion  of genuinely eligible households.

State-wise details of  flagged and deleted beneficiaries after verification (as on 30. 1 1.2025) at Annexure.

(d)  to (f): The Department has taken several steps to strengthen grievance redressal in the Public Distribution System. Major  initiatives include:

## 1. Strengthened Grievance  Redressal Systems

- 0 Universal availability  of  1  967/1800-series toll-free helplines across all States/UTs.
- 0 Introduction of  Anna Sahayata, an advanced Al-enabled WhatsApp and IVRS-based grievance redressal system, allowing  beneficiaries to  lodge complaints in  their own language
- 0 Mera  Ration  Mobile App,  which  enables beneficiaries  to  check  their  entitlements, member and  demographic details,  last  month's  distribution  status, nearby FPS location,  and to lodge grievances directly  through the app.

## 2. Enhanced Monitoring  through CPGRAMS

- 0 States/UTs and all  concerned organisations have been sensitised to  strictly  adhere to the 21-day timeline  for  grievance disposal prescribed under CPGRAMS.
- 0 Pendency of grievances is monitored regularly  through CPGRAMS  dashboards.
- 0 Monthly  advisories are issued to  States to  promote uniform  and timely  grievance resolution
- 0 States/UTs with  high pendency levels are specifically  flagged for corrective action.

## 3. Capacity Building  &  Oversight

- , Regular trainings, workshops, and video conferences are conducted with  States/UTs to improve the efficiency of grievance handling systems.
- o The  Department ensures  strict  implementation of  the  Standard  Operating  Procedure (SOP) for grievance redressal, ensuring accountability  and timely  resolution.

Further, to prevent wrongful  exclusion of  eligible  beneficiaries,  the Department has advised all  States/UTs to conduct physical  and individual-level verification  of  each flagged case before taking any action. This process ensures that eligibility  is determined strictly  in accordance with  State/UT-specific  criteria  framed under Section 10 of NFS A.

The Department has not  constituted any such committee to  assess the impact on vulnerable households under .the stated exclusion process.

SeSeSc SeRge

Annexure

## State-wise details of flagged and deleted beneficiaries after verification  (as on 30.11.2025)

| Sr No.      | State Name                        | Flal led Cases   | Deleted Cases   |
|-------------|-----------------------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| 1           | ANDAMANAND NECOBAR ISLANDS        | 971              | 135             |
| 2           | ANDHRAPRADESH                     | 37,90,418        | 2,76,035        |
| 3           | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                 | 1 ,67,926        | 1               |
| 4           | ASSAM                             | 35,95,862        | 12,93,470       |
| 5           | BIHAR                             | 54,20,773        | 12,68,435       |
| 6           | CHANDIGARH                        | 61 ,481          | 2,345           |
| 7           | CHHATTISGARH                      | 33,36,534        | E 1 ,54,320     |
| 8           | Dadar & Naqar Haveli & Daman& Diu | 52,265           | 8,431           |
| 9           | DELHI                             | 8,14,258         | 23,600          |
| 10          | GOA                               | 49,279           | 3,299           |
| 11          | GUJARAT                           | 55,09,230        | 14,06,257       |
| 12          | HARYANA                           | 31 ,64,507       | 19,47,958       |
| 13          | HIMACHAL PRADESH                  | 5,32,435         | 21 ,819         |
| 14          | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                 | 10,67,961        | 26,484          |
| 15          | JHARKHAN D                        | 40,69,980        | 6,46,786        |
| 16          | KARNATAKA                         | 7,61 ,689        | 49,773          |
| 17          | KERALA                            | 19,21 ,831       | 74,442          |
| 18          | LADAKH                            | 19,229           | 602             |
| 19          | LAKSHADWEEP                       | 6,084            | 50              |
| 20          | MADHYAPRADESH                     |                  | 8,03,617        |
| 21          | MAHARASHTRA                       | 1 ,78,44,571     | 72,73,133       |
| 22          | MANIPUR                           | 5,66,437         | 15,023          |
| 23          | MEGHALAYA                         | 49,455           | 47              |
| 24          | MIZORAM                           | 1 ,72,241        | 3,768           |
| 25          | NAGALAN D                         | 3,08,904         | 18,425          |
| 26          | ODISHA                            | 49,27,086        | 18,83,084       |
| 27          | PUDUCHERRY                        | 31 ,002          | 1,183           |
| 28          | PUNJAB                            | 22,11 ,899       | 2,57,493        |
| 29          | RAJASTHAN                         | 75,68,053        | 14,69,874       |
| 30          | SIKKIM                            | 38, 134          | 3,590           |
| 31          | TAMILNADU                         | 10,46,675        | 84,416          |
| 32          | TELANGANA                         | 4,95,795         | 1 ,17,796       |
| 33          | TRIPURA                           | 1 ,05,000        | 46,705          |
| 34          | UTTARPRADESH                      | 54,80,518        | 17,38,231       |
| 35          | UTTARAKHAN D                      | 8,53,703         | 17,762          |
| 36          | WESTBENGAL                        | 17,29,802        | 3,51 ,997       |
| Grand Total |                                   | 8,51 ,57,422     | 2,12,90,386     |