(a) whether the Government has made all arrangements for distribution
of ration on the basis of Unique Identification Card (UID);
(b) if so, whether UID Cards have been issued to all the citizens in the country; and
(c) if not, the time by which the said cards are likely to be issued to all the
citizens in the country?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PLANNING, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES
(DR. ASHWANI KUMAR)
(a): According to information received from the Department of Food and Public
Distribution, under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the responsibility of
identification of eligible families, issuance and distribution of ration cards vest with the
State/ UT Governments and they have been requested to make efforts to digitize their ration
card database and introduce UID (Aadhaar) numbers in TPDS.
(b) and (c): The mandate of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to issue
UID numbers to all the residents. The number is the proof of identify and not citizenship.
By March 2014, UIDAI plans to cover 600 million residents. Since enrollment to UID is
voluntary, no timeframe has been presently anticipated to cover all the residents in the
country.