Argus News - Ration Card e-KYC To Continue Till December 31: Odisha Minister

Bhubaneswar, Dec 3: The Odisha government has cancelled 33,128 ineligible ration cards following the ongoing e-KYC verification process, which will continue until December 31, informed the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra.

In a written reply to the Assembly, the Minister informed that the ongoing e-KYC and field verification drive has already identified 6,83,995 deceased beneficiaries and led to the cancellation of 33,128 ineligible ration cards, covering 1,20,199 family members.

Khordha district recorded the highest number of fake ration cards detected at 4,747, followed by Cuttack (2,905) and Sundargarh (2,357), said the Minister and added that these cancellations reflect the government’s commitment to eliminating bogus entries and ensuring that food security benefits reach genuine households.

The Minister further informed that since June 2024, the department has received 15,33,153 applications for new ration cards. Of these, 3,23,145 applications, covering 6,39,827 family members, were found eligible after field verification and included under the Food Security Scheme.


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Meanwhile, 7.37 lakh applications were rejected under the exclusion criteria of the Odisha State Food Security Targeted Public Distribution System Rules, 2020. Another 4.72 lakh applications are currently under field verification at block and urban levels, the Minister further stated.

The Minister emphasised that the e-KYC exercise is a crucial step in strengthening transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the distribution of food grains to the poor and vulnerable sections of society.