BHUBANESWAR : As 20.58 lakh beneficiaries covered under food security programmes have not completed e-KYC (electronic know your customer) verification as on June 30, the last deadline for self-authentication, the state government has decided to stop their ration for the next three months.
The national mandate of e-KYC verification, started in August 2024, was extended multiple times due to several factors especially poor internet facility in remote areas of the state. The government finally extended the deadline in May till June 30, 2025 with a clear indication that those who do no complete the process by then will be removed from the list of beneficiaries.
“We are planning to keep the ration cards covering these 20.56 lakh beneficiaries suspended for three months from July. The rice quota against these beneficiaries will not be issued. On completion of the process, their ration cards will be renewed,” said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra adding, after three months, all those ration cards with no claimants will be cancelled.
The e-KYC verification process saw deletion of around 5.2 lakh beneficiaries, including over four lakh deceased and one lakh ineligible cardholders. The state government has received more than 13.86 lakh new applications for issue of ration cards.
As many as 3.3 crore people from 96 lakh families of the state are covered under the food security schemes of the Centre and the state. The beneficiaries include 3.26 crore under the National Food Security Act and a little over 6.48 lakh under the state food security scheme.