Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The state has achieved considerable progress in e-KYC for ration cards, with 84.7 per cent of beneficiaries covered by the process. The e-KYC percentage in Assam is the highest among the NE states and hovers slightly below the national average of 85.6%.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, there are a total of 70,33,972 ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Assam, covering 2,44,94,885 beneficiaries. Out of this total number of beneficiaries, e-KYC has been completed for 2,07,38,508 beneficiaries, which comes to 84.7 per cent covered.
Apart from Assam, the other NE states have achieved the following: 53.5% coverage in Arunachal Pradesh, 39.2% in Meghalaya, 80.4% in Mizoram, 76.6% in Nagaland, 82.5% in Sikkim, 82.5% in Tripura and only 5.5% coverage in Manipur.
The purpose of e-KYC for ration cards under NFSA (National Food Security Act) is to verify beneficiary identities, eliminate fake/duplicate cards, prevent fraud, and ensure subsidies reach genuine, eligible families. It links Aadhaar with ration cards via biometric or OTP authentication at Fair Price Shops (FPS), enabling seamless food grain distribution, especially for migrant workers through the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, ensuring food security and efficient PDS.
The key objectives of ration card e-KYC: (i) Identity Verification: Confirming that the person collecting rations is the actual, eligible cardholder; (ii) Fraud Prevention: Stopping diversion of food grains and eliminating ghost/duplicate beneficiaries; and (iii) Transparency & Efficiency: Making the Public Distribution System (PDS) more transparent and streamlined.
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