Aadhaar authentication of 800M ration beneficiaries underway

The Indian government is accelerating digital authentication or eKYC of more than 800 million National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries who will receive free foodgrains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

The initiative is aimed at curbing theft, eliminating ineligible recipients and to avoid  duplicate enrollments from migration, marriage or other changes. So far 58 million duplicate or fake ration cards, with each covering an average of four to five people, have been removed.

“Using application programme interface, we have enabled all the fair price shops (FPS) to carry out e-KYCs and data in Aadhaar cards must match details in the ration cards,” an official said, according to a local publication.

To date, eKYC has been completed for 658 million NFSA beneficiaries, or 82 percent of the 809 million people registered using Aadhaar authentication. All heads of households named on ration cards have been eKYC’d, and the food ministry has seeded Aadhaar details of 204 million household ration cards.

The Indian states Maharashtra and Haryana are trailing with eKYC completion rates of 54 percent and 48 percent respectively, while Bihar stands at 78 percent and Jharkhand at 74 percent. Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat each report 81 percent of beneficiaries authenticated. The central government is working with lagging states to accelerate their verification drives.

Under NFSA, 75 percent of the rural population and 50 percent of the urban population should be covered for an entitlement of five kilos of rice or wheat per month. Currently, the free ration scheme distributes 56 to 58 million tonnes of foodgrains annually, and the government has budgeted Rs 2.03 lakh crore (USD$ 2.37bn) for food subsidies in FY2026.

Under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative, migrant worker beneficiaries can complete eKYC at their nearby Fair Price Shop (FPS) instead of their place of origin. Additional reforms include the digitization of ration cards, Aadhaar linking of all cards and the installation of electronic point-of-sale machines at FPS.

Face biometrics criticized for Anganwadi benefits, Parsi biometric authentication drive

Leader of India’s Congress Party Jairam Ramesh criticized the use of face biometrics, Aadhaar and biometric authentication for welfare claimants, claiming the measures exclude the poorest and most vulnerable.

This invoked a sharp rebuttal from the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi. “Modi government is ensuring transparency and inclusion in welfare schemes through technology,” she posted on X in Hindi (via New Indian Express).

“Congress, on the other hand, only spreads lies and misinformation and obstructs effective implementation of our schemes.”

The minister cited data to emphasize how the technology has expanded access rather than its opposite. First time beneficiaries rose from 72.05 lakh in 2019-20, she said, to 80.48 lakh in 2024-25. “It is absolutely wrong to say that the use of technology has led to a drop in PMMVY (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana) beneficiaries,” she said.

Since July 1 it is mandatory to use face biometrics for child attendance and ration distribution across Anganwadi centers (care centers to combat child hunger and malnutrition). From August 1 it will also be mandatory for new registrations, with pregnant women, adolescent girls and children needing Aadhaar-based eKYC and photo verification to access benefits.

Congress party leader Ramesh had argued the discriminatory nature of face biometric systems in particular for women and children dependent on Anganwadi services.

In other news, India’s Ministry of Minority Affairs conducted a one-day biometric authentication drive to support the Parsi community as beneficiaries of the Jiyo Parsi scheme.

The Jiyo Parsi scheme provides financial aid for infertility treatments where eligible, financial support for Parsi couples with children and dependent seniors, and advocacy for fertility awareness and family support. The Parsis are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India many eras ago.

The drive saw 100 out of 148 registered beneficiaries in Mumbai attending and completing their mandatory annual biometric authentication. To date, 138 new applications have been received for enrollment under the scheme, according to the ministry which is actively working to expand its reach.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  financial inclusion  |  India  |  social protection