Kumar Bahukhandi
Ration Card for providing subsidised grains and essential supplies, with eligibility based on family income/status-symbolic Photo
In Short
*E-KYC completed for 85% ration card members
*The e-KYC service has been made available at all fair price shops throughout the state
*‘Mera e-KYC’ app enables beneficiaries to complete KYC from home
Raipur: Chhattisgarh currently has 82.18 lakh ration cards in circulation under the Public Distribution System (PDS), covering 2.73 crore registered beneficiaries. Acting on directives from the Union government, the state government is continuously carrying out the e-KYC process to ensure that benefits reach genuine beneficiaries. So far, e-KYC has been completed for 2.3 crore members—around 85 per cent of the total. Approximately 30.32 lakh members are yet to complete the process.
Officials of the Food Department said that e-KYC facilities are available on e-POS machines at all government-run fair price shops across the state. In addition, beneficiaries can also complete e-KYC using the ‘Mera e-KYC’ app launched by the Government of India. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store on Android phones, where beneficiaries can enter their Aadhaar number and complete face-based e-KYC through Aadhaar OTP verification from home.
Officials said that 14,040 government fair price shops are currently operational in the state, and registered ration cardholders can collect ration from the shop of their choice. As per the estimated population for 2025, around 89 per cent of the population is covered under the PDS. To enhance transparency in ration distribution, Aadhaar seeding has also been undertaken, with 99.7 per cent of members already Aadhaar-seeded and 85 per cent having completed e-KYC.
They added that about 2.73 crore people are now covered under food security and are being regularly supplied foodgrains through fair price shops. Of these, more than 73 lakh priority households are receiving free foodgrains, while around 8.5 lakh above-poverty-line families are being provided rice at subsidised rates. Priority households are also being supplied fortified rice enriched with iron, folic acid and vitamin B-12.
Under the state government’s ambitious Niyad Nellanar scheme, free distribution of foodgrains, ‘chana’, sugar, salt and jaggery is being carried out for 42,220 ration cardholders across 402 selected remote villages in five Bastar division districts—Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Kanker.
