A large number of poor and needy families in the country have long relied on the government’s free ration scheme. Economically weaker sections of society are provided free or subsidised rations every month under the National Food Security Act. A ration card is required to avail of this facility, but recent reports indicate that a large number of ineligible names are being removed from the system.
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The government says that investigations in several states have revealed instances where ineligible individuals have been receiving free rations for years. In some cases, rations were even being collected in the names of deceased individuals. This has prevented the benefits of the scheme from reaching the actual beneficiaries. Consequently, the central government has intensified verification efforts in all states and is deleting ration cards on a large scale.
In the past few months, the government has removed approximately 2.25 crore names from the free ration scheme under the National Food Security Act. These were people who did not meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme and yet had been benefiting from it for years. Ministry officials clearly state that government assistance should only reach those truly deserving families. Therefore, all records across the country are being re-examined to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries remain in the system.
The investigation also revealed that many families had obtained ration cards solely to benefit from government benefits, even though they did not meet the actual eligibility criteria. Some individuals were also found to have not collected rations for more than six months. The process of removing these individuals from the PDS list has been initiated. The government believes that removing inactive or fake beneficiaries will ensure better access to grain supplies to those truly in need.
If anyone suspects that their name may have been removed from the list, it is easy to verify online. Visit the nfsa.gov.in website and select the ration card option. After clicking on Ration Card Details on State Portals, you have to select the state, district, block, and panchayat. After this, after selecting your ration shop and card category, the entire list appears on the screen. If a family’s name is present in this list, then their card is still active; if the name is not visible, then the card has been deleted.
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It is also important to note that the government has now made e-KYC mandatory for ration cards. Those who have not yet updated their e-KYC may have their cards deactivated first. Therefore, all beneficiaries should get their identity verified on time so that there is no problem in getting free ration in the future.