Central Ministry of Food: no action on Aadhar-ration card link
Posted on: 12/May/2020 12:53:51 PM
The Central Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution clarified on Monday that NO RATION CARD of the BENEFICIARIES under PDS WILL BE CANCELLED Or the NAME of the beneficiaries be DELETED on the ground of not possessing an Aadhar number till September 30, 2020.
Time extension for Aadhar details furnishing
The Department of Food and Public Distribution (PDS) said that the timeline given to all states/UTs, under the Aadhaar notification of the Department of Food and Public Distribution dated 07.02.2017 (as amended from time-to-time) to complete the seeding of Aadhar numbers with all ration cards/beneficiaries, has been extended up to 30/09/2020 by the department.
Moreover, instructions have also been issued that food grains under NFSA shall not be denied due to the failure of biometric/Aadhar authentication of the beneficiary because of poor biometrics of the beneficiary, issues with network/connectivity/linking or any other technical reasons, the ministry in a statement.
Pragmatic approach decided
According to the Central government, during the current crisis situation, a pragmatic approach is needed so that no poor or deserving person or family is denied access to food grains. In due course, the linking of Aadhar with a ration card will ensure that no person entitled to such ration denies such access.
At present, nearly 90 percent of 23.5 Crores ration cards are seeded with Aadhar numbers of ration card holders (i.e., at least one member of the family); nearly 85 percent of all 80 Crores beneficiaries have also seeded their Aadhar numbers with their respective ration cards.
