‘49,810 ration cards deleted in J&K over five years’

Srinagar, Aug 12: As many as 49,810 ration cards were deleted in Jammu and Kashmir during the five-year period from 2021 to 2025 under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), according to data presented by the Government of India (GoI) in the Lok Sabha.
The information was provided by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya in reply to Unstarred Question No. 4135, raised by Dr Shivaji Bandappa Kalge regarding families identified under the NFSA and deletion of ration cards.
According to the State-wise data placed before the House, Jammu and Kashmir recorded the deletion of 33,677 ration cards in 2021. The number stood at 2,927 in 2022, 5,403 in 2023, 4,767 in 2024 and 3,036 in 2025, taking the five-year total to 49,810.
The data shows that the highest number of deletions in J&K during the period was recorded in 2021, after which the annual figures remained substantially lower.
At the national level, the government data shows 29,02,794 ration cards were deleted in 2021, 63,80,274 in 2022, 41,99,373 in 2023, 48,85,259 in 2024 and 41,41,385 in 2025.
The government was also asked about biometric authentication failures, server downtime and other digital verification-related glitches at Fair Price Shops in Maharashtra that resulted in denial or delay of foodgrain distribution. The Ministry said no such instances had been reported to the Department.
The Centre said multiple authentication modes have been provided under the Public Distribution System, including Single Finger, Fusion Finger, IRIS and Aadhaar-based OTP authentication. In cases where authentication of one household member fails, other eligible family members linked to the ration card can authenticate and draw foodgrains. A nominee facility is also available in exceptional cases.
The Ministry further said e-PoS devices can function in offline mode in areas with limited or no internet connectivity and later synchronise transaction data with the PDS online system. All States and Union Territories have been advised that genuine beneficiaries should not be denied their entitled quota due to biometric or Aadhaar authentication failure arising from connectivity, linking, technical or poor biometric issues.
To strengthen monitoring of NFSA implementation and generate comprehensive empirical evidence, the Department of Food and Public Distribution has conducted a concurrent evaluation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) during 2025-26. (KNO)