Ration Card Crackdown: Centre Flags Over 1 Crore Ineligible Beneficiaries, Directs States to Remove Them

For the first time, the central government has compiled a list of ration card holders who may not be eligible for benefits like free food grains . This move targets households that are either taxpayers , own four-wheelers, or are company directors.

The Department of Food and Public Distribution created this list by cross-checking ration card data with records from the Income-Tax Department (taxpayers), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (company directors), and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (vehicle owners).

Through this verification, officials identified that 94.71 lakh ration card holders pay taxes, 17.51 lakh own four-wheelers, and 5.31 lakh are company directors. In total, about 1.17 crore beneficiaries may not meet the eligibility criteria under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Centre has now instructed states to conduct field verification and remove ineligible beneficiaries by September 30.

An official from the Department of Food and Public Distribution told The Indian Express that the Centre “has helped states by providing this data to identify and remove ineligible beneficiaries so that genuine people in the waiting list can avail the scheme.” The official added that reviewing ration cards, removing ineligible or duplicate entries, and including eligible households remains the responsibility of the states.

According to the NFSA dashboard, 19.17 crore ration cards have been issued across 36 states and Union Territories, covering 76.10 crore beneficiaries as of August 19. Under the rules, government employees, households with an annual income above Rs 1 lakh, four-wheeler owners, and taxpayers are not eligible for free food grains.

In a letter dated July 8, 2025, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra reminded states about previous instructions regarding discrepancies in the Ration Card Management System (RCMS), including duplicate, deceased, or inactive beneficiaries.

Chopra highlighted that the department has now strengthened the verification process by matching RCMS data with various government databases, including the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), and PM-Kisan.

He added that the lists of potentially ineligible beneficiaries will be shared with states through an API-based integration and will be visible on the Rightful Targeting Dashboard developed by the Department.

“As you are aware, the responsibility for identification of beneficiaries rests with the State Government. You are, therefore, requested to kindly undertake necessary field verification of such flagged cases and initiate appropriate action for data cleansing, wherever ineligibility is established. This exercise is critical to ensure that the resources under TPDS are directed only towards the eligible households,” wrote Chopra.

This initiative marks a major push to ensure that food security benefits reach the truly deserving, making the system more transparent and efficient.