Lok Sabha Question No. 6100 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Audit of Free Ration Beneficiaries under NFSA
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Anurag Singh Thakur

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6100

TO BE ANSWERED ON IsT APRIL, 2026

## AUDIT  OF FREE RATION  BENEFICIARIES  UNDER NFSA

## 6100. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

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

- (a): whether the Government initiated an audit/verification exercise of beneficiaries  under National Food Security Act (NFSA) to weed out ineligible and suspicious ration cardholders and if  so, the details  thereof;
- (b): the number of  such suspicious, ineligible beneficiaries identified, removed so far, Statewise including district-wise  for Himachal  Pradesh along with the key parameters being used for verification including  Aadhaar de-duplication;
- (c): the details of the estimated savings in terms of  foodgrains and subsidy expenditure resulting from such removal;
- (d): the details of the safeguards to ensure that genuine vulnerable poor families  are not adversely affected during verification drive, details  of appeal, grievance redressal available;
- (e): whether  any instances of  misuse, political  interference or fraudulent  practices by officials or private parties have been detected during this audit exercise and the corrective action taken by the Government  in this  regard; and
- (f): the manner in which the Government proposes to further strengthen transparency and accountability  in the distribution  of  subsidised foodgrains, while  ensuring intended benefits reach only  most deserving households?

## 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 to address inclusion and exclusion errors, the  Department of  Food and Public Distribution  has undertaken a '  Rightful Targeting'  exercise using data analytics and cross-verification of NFSA beneficiary data with  multiple  external databases  of  various Ministries/Departments, including Central  Board  of  Direct  Taxes (CBDT), Goods and  Services Tax  Network  (GSTN)/CBIC, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), IVlinistry of  Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH Vahan), and Aadhaar, along with  internal  PDS database  parameters. The key parameters used for identification of ineligible beneficiaries include, beneficiaries identified as Directors in companies (MCA),  income criteria as per CBDT  records (e.g., income above ?6 lakh or as per State-specific thresholds),  Aadhaar-based checks such as deceased beneficiaries, beneficiaries  above 100 years of  age or anomalous cases like  single-member households  below  18 years, ownership of motor vehicles as per MoRTH  database, GST-related indicators such as turnover exceeding ?25 lakh, detection of duplicate beneficiaries,  and identification  of 'silent  beneficiaries' not availing  ration for a prolonged period.

Based on this exercise, 8.51 crore  beneficiaries  were flagged across States/UTs for  field verification  by  the  respective State/UT Government.  Subsequent field-level  verification  by States/UTs has led to removal of 2.21 crore  ineligible  beneficiaries enabling improved targeting of genuinely eligible households. Additionally, 2.64 crore beneficiaries  were found eligible by the  States/UTs and  have been retained. State/UT-wise  details  are  placed at  Annexure-l. District-wise details for Himachal Pradesh are placed at Annexure II.

- (c): The savings cannot be precisely quantified, as States/UTs issue new ration cards to eligible  beneficiaries in place of those removed. However, the removal of ineligible/duplicate beneficiaries creates space for  inclusion of  more deserving  households  and enhances the overall efficiency and targeting of the system .
- (d): 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. The Department has also undertaken several measures to strengthen digital  monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms under the Public  Distribution  System (PDS).

Firstly,  grievance  redressal systems have  been  strengthened through  the  universal availability  of  toll-free  helplines (1967/1800 series) across all  States/UTs- in  addition,  Anna Sahayata (ASHA) has  been  introduced  as  an  Al-enabled grievance  redressal platform leveraging WhatsApp and IVRS channels, enabling beneficiaries to  lodge complaints and provide feedback in their preferred regional languages.

The Mera Ration Mobile App also provides an integrated interface for  beneficiaries  to access their  entitlement details, view  transaction  history, locate nearby FPSs, and register grievances directly.

Further, monitoring has been strengthened through integration with  the CPGRAWIS platform1 wherein  States/UTs have been advised to adhere to the prescribed timeline  of 21 days for  grievance disposal. Grievance pendency is regularly  monitored through dashboards, and periodic advisories are issued to ensure timely  resolution. States/UTs with high pendency are specifically flagged for corrective action.

These initiatives collectively  enhance transparency,  improve accountability, and ensure timely delivery of services to beneficiaries under the PDS.

(e): No instances of misuse, political interference, or fraudulent practices by officials or private parties have been reported to this  Department.

- (D: Present Status of  modernization efforts  of  Public  Distribution  System (PDS)  by  the Department across the country are as follows  -
- Ration cards/beneficiary's database  have been completely digitized (100%) in all  States/UTs.
- ·Aadhaar seeding has been completed for  more than 99.7% ration cards and about 99.26% beneficiaries.
- All  States/UTs have been regularly  urged to complete the eKYC  so that the benefits of the scheme reach the  entitled beneficiaries. The  eKYC  has been completed for  87.30% beneficiaries
- Nearly 5.50 Lakh (99.8%) out of total 5.51 Lakh Fair Price Shops (FPSs) in the country have been automated by  installing  ePoS devices for  the distribution  of  foodgrains  through  Aadhaar biometric authentication of beneficiaries.
- Introduction of Anna Sahayata, an advanced Al-enabled WhatsApp and IVRS-based grievance redressal system, allowing beneficiaries to lodge complaints in their own language using these platforms.
- IVlera 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.
- Anna  Mitra  mobile  app enables the field  level functionaries  as well  FPS dealers to run  day to day PDS operations.
-  For effective and efficient  implementation of the distribution process, the Department has urged the States to integrate the ePOS devices in FPS with weighing scales.

SeSc +case

## State/UT-wise details

## Annexure  I

| Sr No. 1    | State Name                         | Flagged Cases   | Deleted by States/UTs   | Retained by States/UTs   | Total Actions (b/aby 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           | ANDHRAPRADESH                      | 37,90,41 8      | 3,21, 157               | 30,43,946                | 88.78%                        |
| 6           | CHHATFISGARH                       | 33,36,534       | 2,93,521                | 23,07,675                | 77.96%                        |
| 7           | UTTAR PRADESH                      | 54,80,5 18      | 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                | 5 1.67%                       |
| 13          | PUNJAB                             | 22, 11,899      | 2,66,548                | 7,94,297                 | 47.96%                        |
| 14          | TELANGANA                          | 4,95,795        | 1,39,718                | 79,998                   | 44.32%                        |
| 15          | MAHARASHTRA                        | 7               | 1                       | SI ,XII                  | 41.90%                        |
| 16          | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS        | 97 1            | 137                     | 267                      | 41.61%                        |
| 17          | ASSAM                              | 35,95,862       | 12,94,024               | 25                       | 35.99%                        |
| 18          | TAMIL NADU                         | 10,46,675       | 2, 10,814               | 1,28, 195                | 32.39%                        |
| 19          | WESTBENGAL                         | 17,29,802       | 3,57,390                | 1 ,86,612                | 3 1.45%                       |
| 20          | JHARKHAND                          | 40,69,980       | 6,94,090                | 3,66,617                 | 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          | HIMACHAL PRADESH                   | 5,32,435        | 25,357                  | 55,324                   | 15.15%                        |
| 24          | UTTARAKHAN D                       | 8,53,703        | 74,4 14                 | 4 1,253                  | 13.55%                        |
| 25          | SIKKIM                             | 38, 13+         | 4,411                   | 400                      | 12.62%                        |
| 26          | CHANDIGARH                         | 61 ,481         | 7,457                   |                          | 12.13%                        |
| 27          | DELHI                              | 8, 14,258       | 80,420                  |                          | 9.88%                         |
| 28          | NAGALAND                           | 3,08,904        | 23,799                  | 2                        | 7.70%                         |
| 29          | GOA                                | 49,279          | 3,312                   |                          | 6.72%                         |
| 30          | MIZORAM                            | 1 ,72,241       | 8,669                   | 7                        | 5.04%                         |
| 31          | PUDUCHERRY                         | 3 1,002         | 1,342                   |                          | 4.33%                         |
| 32          | LADAKH                             | 19,229          | 618                     |                          | 3.22%                         |
| 33          | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                  | 10,67,961       | 28,665                  | HO                       | 2.97%                         |
| 34          | MANIPUR                            | 5,66,437        | 15,540                  |                          | 2.74%                         |
| 35          | MEGHALAYA                          | 49,455          | 1,317                   |                          | 2.66%                         |
| 36          | ARUNACH AL PRADESH                 | 1 ,67,926       | 30                      |                          | 0.02% 57.01%                  |
| Grand Total |                                    | 8,51,57,242     | 2,21,16,115             | 2,64,32,181              |                               |

## District  - wise details for  Himachal  Pradesh

| Sr No       | FDistrict Name   | Flagged Cases   |   Deleted Cases |   Retained Cases | % Actions Taken   |
|-------------|------------------|-----------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|
|             | CHAMBA           | 35683           |            1204 |             4097 | 14.86%            |
|             | KANGRA           | 11 6280         |            6809 |             4979 | 10.14%            |
|             | LAHUL AND SPITI  | 994             |             118 |              836 | 95.98%            |
|             | KULLU            | 38052           |             808 |            19166 | 52.49%            |
|             | MANDI            | 95982           |            2962 |             6125 | 9.47%             |
|             | HAMIRPUR         | 29166           |            1541 |             1022 | 8.79%             |
|             | UNA              | 41424           |            1794 |             1666 | 8.35%             |
|             | BILASPUR         | 36844           |            1468 |              672 | 5.81%             |
| 9           | SOLAN            | m6              |            4335 |             2129 | 13.90%            |
| 10          | SIRMAUR          | 34742           |            1016 |             1578 | 7.47%             |
| 11          | SHIMLA           | 51902           |            3086 |            12366 | 29.77%            |
| 12          | KINNAUR          | 4861            |             216 |              688 | 18.60%            |
| Grand Total | Grand Total      | 5,32,435        |           25357 |            55324 | 15.15%            |

## Annexure ll