Under the Food Security Act, e-KYC is being done to ensure that only eligible persons get the benefit of free food grains given every month. So far, 15 lakh such beneficiaries have been caught in Madhya Pradesh, who have either passed away or have not come to collect food grains for four months. The names of all these have been removed from the eligibility list.
E-KYC of 83 lakh beneficiaries is still pending. Among these, there may be three to four lakh such beneficiaries, whose names are registered at two places, who have passed away or are not coming to collect food grains. The names of such beneficiaries will be removed from the list, and the names of new eligible people will be added. So, if you are also a ration card holder, then this news is important for you! Know what is this whole game of e-KYC.
E-KYC exposed the fraud
Under the provisions of the Food Security Act, there may be 5.46 crore beneficiaries of the public distribution system in Madhya Pradesh. This number had crossed five and a half crores! After investigation, some names were removed, but still there were complaints of ineligible people taking ration. Given this, the government started the process of e-KYC. In this, Aadhaar-based biometric verification is being done to ensure the identity of each beneficiary. Now no one will be able to take the ration fraudulently.
Four and a half lakh beneficiaries did not come to take the ration for four months
In this e-KYC process, four and a half lakh such beneficiaries were found who were not coming to take ration for four months. Whereas, there is a provision to give free food grains in the scheme! Similarly, the investigation also revealed that there are about 10 lakh such beneficiaries who have either died or gone somewhere.
The names of all such people should have been removed from the list, but they were registered, and food grains were also being allotted in their name. This was a blatant misuse of free grains, which has now been caught by e-KYC.
15 lakh names removed between January and April 2025
Departmental officials say that 15 lakh names have been removed from the list of beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System between January and April 2025. This process is not yet complete, so this number may increase further. The government’s goal is that no ineligible person can take advantage of this scheme.
Names are being removed from the data of the Samagra portal
Departmental officials say that whenever a member of a beneficiary family dies or a girl gets married and goes to her in-laws’ house, her name has to be removed. Its information is collected by the local bodies and recorded on the Samagra portal.
From there, the Food Civil Supplies Department gets data every month, based on which names are removed. But, there were some shortcomings in this process as well, which are now being removed through e-KYC.
Indore has the highest e-KYC
So far 84 percent of e-KYC work has been completed in the state. The highest 92 percent beneficiaries have been e-KYCed in Indore, while the lowest 75 percent is in Bhind district. 90 percent beneficiaries have been e-KYCed in Balaghat, 85 in Bhopal, 83 in Ujjain and 81 percent in Jabalpur. Less than 80 percent work has been done in Tikamgarh, Shivpuri, Alirajpur, Ashok Nagar districts. The government wants 100% e-KYC work to be completed in all districts as soon as possible.
2.90 lakh tons of wheat and rice are required every month
Under the public distribution system, 2.90 lakh tons of free food grains are given every month. This includes 1.74 lakh tons of rice and 1.16 lakh tons of wheat. The state government has demanded to reduce the quota of rice and increase that of wheat. The procurement of wheat has been completed, so now changes in the quota are possible. The government wants the beneficiaries to get grains as per their choice.