The central government has made a major overhaul of the free food grains distribution scheme. After a thorough review over the past few months, the names of 2.25 crore ineligible beneficiaries have been removed from the national list of ration cards. According to the Food Ministry, this step has been taken to make the scheme transparent and targeted so that only the genuinely poor families get the monthly food grains benefit.

Government sources claim that the names of those who are not actually eligible under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have been on the list for a long time. In the last four to five months, those names have been identified and removed in a joint initiative of the Centre and the states.

Why have so many names been removed? The investigation revealed several irregularities

A senior official of the Food Ministry said that after verification, it was found that many people were getting ration benefits despite owning four-wheelers. Iheir names were on the list even though they exceeded the prescribed income limit. Several people were getting ration benefits as directors of companies. The names of many deceased persons were also not excluded from the list. It is also known that due to several technical errors and non-updating of old information, ineligible names remained on the list.

The role of the states was the most important

The central government prepares the list of ineligible beneficiaries and sends it to the states concerned. Then each state completes the process of exclusion of names based on its own investigation and field reports. At the same time, the work of including genuine poor and eligible beneficiaries in the list is also underway, the center said.

Who is provided with benefits under NFSA?

According to the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013—
75% of people in rural areas
50% of people in urban areas
get ration under this scheme. In total, about 81.35 crore people in the country are currently beneficiaries of this scheme.

Eligibility verification, exclusion of names and enrollment of new eligible persons—all this is an ongoing administrative process.
Separate benefits for two categories of beneficiaries

Two categories of families get ration benefits under NFSA—

Antyodoya Anna Yojana (AAY) families

35 kg food grains per month

Priority Homes (PHH)

Each member of the family gets 5 kg food grains per month
A big step towards Swachh Scheme

The Centre claims that the removal of 2.25 crore ineligible names from the list will increase transparency in government schemes. This will ensure that genuine beneficiaries will get food grains faster and without any hindrance. It has also been informed that regular monitoring will be carried out to reduce irregularities and fraud. This decision of the government has created mixed reactions among the common people. However, according to the administration, in the long run, this reshuffle will increase the effectiveness of the scheme and ensure proper use of government money.