Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said there was scope to issue nearly 3 lakh ration cards to eligible beneficiaries after some state governments removed 2.21 lakh ineligible cardholders from the Public Distribution System rolls.
Speaking about the launch of the smart storage system, Joshi said the deletions were implemented by the state governments as per their own norms, and not by the Centre.
The food ministry has identified 8.51 lakh crore ineligible beneficiaries, including names of deceased persons, income tax payers and four-wheeler owners, and has forwarded the list to the states for necessary action.
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“Out of the Rs 8.51 lakh crore, states have withdrawn Rs 2.21 lakh from ration cards. We have not withdrawn them,” he said, adding that the process was made possible by the digitization of the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Joshi told reporters on the sidelines of the event that states have been allowed to add eligible beneficiaries, and “nearly Rs 3 lakh additional ration cards could be issued to eligible people by various state governments.”
He noted that eliminations were not uniform across the country: some states had completed the process while others had not yet identified ineligible beneficiaries.
“In total, there are now 79 crore beneficiaries in the country,” he said, stressing that the Centre’s aim is not to rescue but to ensure that foodgrains reach the needy.
The target of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana remains at Rs 80 crore
He said the target of distribution of free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana remains at Rs 80 crore.
The minister said the digitization of the public distribution system has led to 98.5 per cent of foodgrains distributed under PMGKY being authenticated through Aadhaar numbers and ePoS devices.
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New technologies are being deployed across public distribution system operations, including warehouses and smart warehouses, and the ministry is working to create a fully digital distribution system.
Joshi also claimed that around 25 crore people have come out of multidimensional poverty since Covid due to implementation of several schemes, including PMGKY, citing international forums like IMF and Niti Aayog.
Regarding the possibility of increasing the food subsidy bill this year, he said that the government “will be able to deal with the allocation budget.”
