Kerala Asks Centre for More Time on Ration Card e-KYC and Alternate Plan for Inactive Users

The Kerala government has asked the Centre to relax a three-month deadline for completing e-KYC verification on ration cards.

The Request

State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob wrote a letter to Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi asking for permission to shift inactive priority ration cards to the non-priority category instead of deleting them. The request follows the Targeted Public Distribution System Control Amendment Order of 2025 which sets a three-month window to finish e-KYC before cards are permanently disabled if beneficiaries fail to collect rations for six straight months. A preliminary review shows 44,279 priority card holders in Kerala under the National Food Security Act have not drawn rations for over half a year. This total includes 5,370 Antyodaya Anna Yojana cards and 38,909 Priority Household cards.

State Position

The State government argues that missing ration collections for a long period does not automatically mean a household is no longer poor or eligible for priority benefits. Officials say they need more time to study why these families did not collect their food and warn that sudden removal could cause genuine people to lose their rights. Under the proposed plan, disabled cards would lose NFSA foodgrain access but could still get food under the State category using Aadhaar biometric authentication while checks are carried out. The letter adds that Kerala already has 5,62,494 non-priority cards whose holders have not drawn rations for six months, and these users already get food through state tide-over arrangements using electronic point-of-sale machines. Minister Anoop Jacob stated this temporary shift will stop genuine people from losing out while making sure NFSA food goes only to active and eligible homes.

Context

Public distribution systems across India rely on digital verification methods like e-KYC and Aadhaar authentication to stop fraud and ensure subsidies reach the right people. Governments often face the challenge of balancing strict rules against fraud with the need to protect vulnerable citizens from losing welfare support due to paperwork delays.