Lok Sabha Question No. 4328 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Food Security and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Rajkumar Chahar, Shri Gopal Jee Thakur, Smt. Sanjna Jatav, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Shri Tejasvi Surya, Smt. Anita Nagarsingh Chouhan, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Shri Mahendra Singh Solanky, Shri Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao, Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Shri Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Shri Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi, Shri Yogender Chandolia

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4328

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18T II MARCH, 2026

## FOOD SECURITY AND PRADHAN MANTRI  GARIB KALYAN  ANNA YOJANA

## 4328. SHRI YOGENDER CHANDOLIA:

SMT. SMITA UDAY WAGH:

SHRI MADHAVANENI RAGHUNANDAN RAO:

SHRI SUKANTA KUMAR PANI(,RAHI:

SHRI RAJKUM AR CHAHAR:

SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SMT. SANJNA JATAV:

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB :

SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY:

SHRI MAIIENDRA SINGH SOLANKY:

SHRI GOPAL JEE THAKUR:

SMT. ANITA  NAGARSINGH CHOUHAN:

SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

DR. RAJESH MISHRA:

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

- (a)  whether the  Government has finalised  the  financial  and expenditure roadmap for extending the Pradhan Mantri  Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana  (PMGKAY) till  the year 2029 and if  so, the details thereof,  State and district-wise;
- (b) the details of allocation of foodgrains and estimated beneficiaries  particularly  for Maharashtra and Jalgaon district;
- (c) the concrete steps being taken by the Government to ensure universal coverage by bridging the gap between the 81.35 crore approved beneficiaries and the presently identified 80.6 core persons in the country especially in Nabarangpur and tribal regions of Odisha and districts  ofBharatpur Lok  Sabha Constituency;
- (d) the specific measures being taken to update the beneficiary list in the absence of decennial census in line with  recent judicial observations and including  the role of  States in identification  in the country, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh;
- (e) whether the Government has completed the process of cent per cent Aadhaar seeding and e-KYC  for all active ration cards across the country by the deadline of February,  2026;
- (f)  if  so, the details thereof including  status especially in Maharashtra, Nabarangpur and tribal areas of  Odisha, Sidhi  Lok  Sabha Constituency and Dewas-Shajapur district  of  Madhya Pradesh; and
- (g) the details of corrective  steps taken where targets are pending?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a): The Central Government, in order to remove the financial burden of  the poor beneficiaries and to ensure nationwide uniformity  had distributed food grains free of  cost to beneficiaries i.e. Antyodaya Anna  Yojana  (AAY) households and Priority  Households (PHII)  beneficiaries, for  a period of  one year beginning from  lst  January 2023 under the Pradhan  Mantri  Grib  Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).  The period for distribution of free of cost foodgrains has been extended for further five  years i.e. from  lst  January, 2024, with  an estimated  financial  outlay  of  Rs. 11.80 lakh crore totally  to be borne by Central Government. At  present, no proposal for extension of PMGKAY beyond 3 1 December  2028 is under consideration of the Government.

(b): At  present,  number of beneficiaries receiving free of cost foodgrains in State of Maharashtra and Jalgaon district  is 6,76,61,974 and 27,69,746 respectively.

On the basis of  identification  of  beneficiaries reported by the State Govt.,  383766 MT  of foodgrains per month is being allocated to  State of  Maharashtra. District-wise  allocation is being made by the respective States/UTs.

(c) &  (d):  The Pradhan  Mantri Grib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)  provides for coverage upto 75% of rural population and upto 50% of urban population for receiving free of cost foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution  System (TPDS), thus covering about 67% of  the bottom population which at Census 2011 comes to 81.35 crore. Coverage  under the Act  is substantially high to ensure that all the vulnerable and needy sections of the society get its benefit.

At  present, against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore, the States/UTs have identified  79.40 crore person, which  is about 97.60c3/6 of the intended coverage i.e. 81.35 crore persons. Still,  there is a scope of identification  of  1 .95 crore more beneficiaries under the PMGKAY.

The Central Government has issued advisories to all the States/Union Territories including to the States ofOdisha, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh from time to time to identify all eligible and poor persons/ households including vulnerable Sections of the Society for inclusion under the NFS A.  States undertake updation of  their  beneficiary  database so that  ineligible  ration cards get deleted and better targeting of  rightful beneficiaries is  ensured. Thus,  deletion of  ineligible beneficiaries and addition of eligible  beneficiaries under the Act  is a continuous process.

(e) to (g):  As part of the Government's digital initiatives to enhance reach and effectiveness of 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-seeded and 99.29/a beneficiaries aadhaar seeded. As on 31.01.2026, e-KYC  of  87.37% of  the PDS beneficiaries have been completed across the country.

All  the ration cards in Odisha (including  Nabarangpur and tribal areas) and Madhya Pradesh (including  Sidhi  Constituency and Dewas-Shajapur  district) have been Aadhaar Seeded. Further the e-KYC of 97.10% PDS beneficiaries in State ofOdisha  has been completed. Furthermore, e-KYC  of 93.18 % PDS beneficiaries  in  State ofMadhya Pradesh has been completed.

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