States Eliminate 2.12 Crore Fake PDS Beneficiaries After Centre’s Data Audit

New Delhi: The states and Union territories have deleted 2.12 crore fake PDS beneficiaries so far out of the list of 8.51 crore suspected recipients prepared by the Centre, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Under the Public Distribution System (PDS) via the National Food Security Act (NFSA), beneficiaries get 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month (mix of wheat/rice), while the poorest AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) households get 35 kg per family/month.

In her written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Consumers and Food Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya the list prepared by the central government was flagged with respective states for conducting field verification and to take necessary action as deemed fit on these cases. "Till date, the respective states/UTs have deleted 2.12 crore beneficiaries of the above flagged beneficiaries, thus making space for eligible wait-listed beneficiaries," she said.

During 2024-25, the government undertook a comprehensive data analytics exercise wherein multiple Key Performance Indexes (KPIs), such as beneficiaries aged over 100 years, silent ration cards, duplicate ration cards and beneficiaries below 18 years with single-member ration cards, were applied to the PDS database.

This database was also cross-matched with datasets of other government agencies, including Aadhaar, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). This exercise flagged approximately 8.51 crore beneficiaries (2024 to 2025), and the list of these flagged beneficiaries was shared with the respective state/UTs for conducting field verification, she added. 

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