Lok Sabha Question No. 3193 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Functioning of PDS
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Godam Nagesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3193

## TO BE ANSWERED ON lITll MARCH, 2026

## FUNCTIONING OF PDS

## 3193. SHRI GODAM NAGESH:

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

- (a): whether the  Government has assessed the  effectiveness and smooth functioning  of  the Public Distribution  System  (PDS) across the country, particularly  in the State of Telangana;
- (b): the steps taken to ensure timely  availability of foodgrains, transparency in distribution and prevention ofleakages under the PDS, State/UT-wise including Telangana;
- (c): the measures implemented to  strengthen digital  monitoring,  Aadhaar-based  authentication and grievance redressal mechanisms in fair  price shops in Telangana; and
- (d): whether  the  Government proposes any  reforms  or  technology-driven  interventions to farther improve service delivery and beneficiary satisfaction under the PDS and if  so, the details thereoP

## ANSWER

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

(SHRIM ATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI  BAMBHANIYA)

- (a): Targeted Public Distribution  System (TPDS) governed under National Food Security Act, 2013  (NFS A) is operated  under  the  joint responsibility of  the  Central  and  the  State/UT Governments. The operational responsibilities for allocation of foodgrains within  the States/UTs, identification of eligible  beneficiaries  &  families, issuance of ration cards to them, distribution of foodgrains to eligible beneficiaries,  supervision and monitoring of functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) etc. rest with  the  concerned State/ UT  Governments. Union  Government has laid  down a robust mechanism to seamlessly distribute the food grains under PMGKAY  to around 80 Crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)  beneficiaries through Fair Price Shops in all the State/UTs.

Further, this  Department engaged Monitoring  Institutions  (MIs)  of  repute to  undertake concurrent evaluation of  the  implementation of  National  Food Security Act,  2013 (NFSA)  in different States/UTs for  Phase-1 (2018-20) and Phase-I1 (2020-23). Reports submitted by the MIs are available in public  domain at https://nfsa.gov.in/portal/Concurrent Evaluation

(b)  to  (d): As  part  of  the  Government's digital initiatives to  enhance reach,  effectiveness  under PMGKAY  and the Public Distribution  System  (PDS), the ration card/beneficiary database has been 100% digitised across all  States and Union  Territories, with  99.7% ration cards Aadhaar-see' lied and 99.2':/G beneficiaries aadhaar seeded

This has enabled beneficiaries to access their full  entitlements at Fair Price Shops through ePoS devices using their Ration Card Number or Aadhaar Number, with  biometric authentication. Further, initiatives  such as One Nation  One Ration Card (ONORC), Mera Ration App and Anna Sahayata have expanded the reach of  food security  benefits, particularly  to  migrant  and mobile populations, thereby improving  the effectiveness ofPMGKAY and PDS.

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