BIZ Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 3: Jammu and Kashmir has deleted nearly 50,000 ration cards over the past five years as part of a nationwide beneficiary verification drive under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), the Union Government informed the Lok Sabha today.
In a written reply, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution revealed that the UT removed 49,810 ration cards between 2021 and 2025. The annual break-up shows 33,677 deletions in 2021, 2,927 in 2022, 5,403 in 2023, 4,767 in 2024, and 3,036 so far in 2025.
In neighbouring Ladakh, authorities deleted a total of 2,081 ration cards during the same period — including 614 in 2021, 30 in 2022, 58 in 2023, 615 in 2024, and 764 in 2025 to date.
Nationwide Data-Analytics Audit Triggered Verification
The Ministry said the deletions followed a massive data-analytics exercise conducted by the Department of Food and Public Distribution in 2024–25. Using databases from Aadhaar, CBDT, MoRTH, MCA, and CBIC, the Centre identified 8.51 crore suspect beneficiaries across India.
These included:
- Individuals aged over 100 years,
- Duplicate ration card holders,
- “Silent” ration cards with no transactions, and
- Single-member ration cards registered under minors.
States and UTs were subsequently directed to physically verify the flagged cases and delete ineligible entries. So far, 2.12 crore such beneficiaries have been removed nationwide, the Government stated.
Tech Interventions Helped Weed Out 2.25 Crore Cards
Between 2021 and 2025, technological measures — including digitisation of ration cards, Aadhaar seeding, de-duplication, and tracking of deaths or permanent migration — enabled States and UTs to eliminate nearly 2.25 crore invalid ration cards.
Ensuring Fair Targeting Under TPDS
The Government said the measures aim to ensure that subsidised foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) reach only eligible families. While the Centre allocates foodgrains under PMGKAY and the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the responsibility of identifying beneficiaries, issuing ration cards, and supervising Fair Price Shops lies with the State and UT administrations, including J&K and Ladakh.
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