Question : Food Security under PDS

(a) the details of the schemes of the Government of India to provide food security under Public Distribution System;
(b) whether the process of linking of Aadhaar no. with ration cards of the people has been completed, if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government of India has made Aadhaar Card mandatory for the beneficiaries under Public Distribution System, if so, the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the Government has conducted any investigation into the numerous cases of ration being denied to people because of lack of Aadhaar Cards/linkage of ration to Aadhaar Cards, if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
(e) whether the Government has taken any action against Fair Price Shops that have been reported to deny ration to people for lack of Aadhaar Cards, if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor;
(f) whether the Government has taken any steps to ensure that legitimate ration cardholders are not denied supplies from ration shops for not having Aadhaar card, if so, the details thereof; and
(g) whether the Government is aware that people have starved to death as a result of not getting timely supply of rations, if so, the total number of people who have died in the country in the last few months?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)
(a): The Government is implementing the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), which provides for coverage of 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population to receive foodgrains at highly subsidized prices of Rs.1/2/3 per kg for coarse grains/wheat/rice respectively. The Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs and 80.72 crore persons are covered for receiving highly subsidized foodgrains.
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(b): As per the information received from States/UTs, out of total 23.10 crore ration cards, 18.89 crore ration cards have been seeded with Aadhar. At present the Aadhar seeding at national level is 81.75%.
(c) to (g): The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) has issued a Notification dated 08.02.2017 [as amended from time to time] which inter-alia provides for linking of Aadhaar of eligible beneficiaries under NFSA with Ration Card. However, as per provisions of said Notification, those eligible beneficiaries under NFSA who do not possess Aadhaar, are required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment by giving their name, address, mobile number with Ration Card number and other details to their fair price shop owners or through the web portal provided for the purpose by State/UT. The said notification further provides that till the Aadhaar is assigned to the beneficiaries, entitlements under NFSA shall be given to such individuals on production of Ration Card and either Aadhaar Enrollment ID slip or copy of his/her request made to State Government for Aadhaar Enrollment along with any of the 8 documents listed in the said notification. In the light of the provisions of the above notification, benefits under NFSA cannot be denied by State/UT Governments for the only reason that eligible beneficiaries do not possess Aadhaar. A letter dated 24.10.2017 has also been issued to all the States/UTs with directions to strictly comply with the provisions of the above notification.
The above mentioned notification as well as the letter dated 24.10.2017 has been uploaded on the official website of Department of Food and Public Distribution.
In the recent past a few reports have been published in print media about starvation deaths in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. However, the State Governments have informed that the deaths couldn’t be attributed to starvation.
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