Under the Public Distribution System (PDS), 2.73 crore people in Chhattisgarh are currently covered under food security schemes, with 85 percent of ration card members having completed their e-KYC, officials said on Tuesday.
At present, 82.18 lakh ration cards are active in the state, covering a total of 2.73 crore registered beneficiaries. As per directions of the Central Government, the state government is continuously carrying out the e-KYC process to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries receive the benefits of the scheme. So far, 2.3 crore beneficiaries have completed e-KYC, while e-KYC of around 30.32 lakh members is still pending.
Food Department officials said that e-KYC facilities are available at all government fair price shops across the state through e-POS machines. In addition, beneficiaries can also complete e-KYC from home using the “Mera e-KYC” mobile application launched by the Government of India. For app-based e-KYC, beneficiaries can download the app from the Google Play Store on an Android mobile phone, enter their Aadhaar number, and complete face-based e-KYC through Aadhaar OTP verification.
Officials informed that 14,040 government fair price shops are currently operational in the state, and ration card holders are free to collect ration from the fair price shop of their choice. Based on the estimated population for the year 2025, the PDS currently covers about 89 percent of the state’s population. To enhance transparency in ration distribution, Aadhaar seeding is also being carried out, with 99.7 percent Aadhaar seeding completed and 85 percent e-KYC finalized so far.
The Food Department stated that around 2.73 crore people have been brought under the food security net, and food grains are being distributed to them regularly through fair price shops. Under the priority category, more than 73 lakh families are being provided free food grains, while around 8.5 lakh Above Poverty Line (APL) families are receiving rice at subsidized rates. Priority households are also being supplied fortified rice enriched with iron, folic acid, and vitamin B-12.
