Government Deleted 2.49 Crore Ration Cards In Five Years; The Story Behind The Numbers

People like Sakina Begum and Hanumant Sarak may not know that ration card issues have been discussed in the Indian Parliament. What they do know is hunger and precarious work, and they are left wondering why they have not received subsidised food grains under the PDS for months. 

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the central government provides free food grains to around 800 million people through ration shops. Yet, millions of ration cards have been deregistered or cancelled during the digitisation of the PDS via the ‘Mera Ration’ app. 

Since 2020, States and Union Territories have deleted 2.49 crore ration cards for various reasons, the central government told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, December 2, during the winter session. 

In a written reply, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, said India currently has 20,29,52,938 ration cards in circulation.  

“As part of digitisation, States and Union Territories have cancelled 2.49 crore ration cards between 2020 and 2025 to ensure proper targeting,” said Bambhaniya. Most cancellations were due to duplicate or ineligible cards, eKYC mismatches, deaths, permanent migration, and the Centre has not received complaints of wrongful deletions. 

Official data shows large-scale deletions over the past six years: 24,19,451 in 2020; 29,02,794 in 2021; 63,80,274 in 2022; 41,99,373 in 2023; 48,85,259 in 2024; and 41,41,385 so far in 2025. Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, which covers up to 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population, which is about two-thirds of India’s population, or roughly 81.35 crore, ration cards provide essential access to subsidised food grains.

eKYC: A major reason for ration card deletions 

Sakina Begum, 32, lives in Mumbai’s western suburbs. She sells plastic cutlery from home, earning around ₹5,000 a month. With three children and a husband with a disability, she relies heavily on PDS food grains to make ends meet. 

“I was told to complete eKYC in June 2025 by our ration shop owner. I don’t understand technology and don’t have a smartphone, so I asked the shopkeeper for help,” she said. 

Sakina visited her PDS shop in Andheri three times to complete eKYC. 

“Each time there was a server issue. After much effort, my eKYC was done in July, but I haven’t received any ration since. The shopkeeper told me my card was cancelled and didn’t know why,” Sakina told Outlook. 

Receiving food grains on Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration card was an entitled relief to Sakina, who now spends Rs. 2000 monthly on groceries.

The AAY ration card is meant for the “poorest of the poor,” ensuring they receive the food security support. Under this scheme, every AAY household gets 35 kg of foodgrains each month at prices – Rs 3/kg for rice, Rs 2/kg for wheat, and Rs 1/kg for coarse grains, irrespective of number of members in the family. The scheme focuses on families with no steady income or support, including landless labourers, widows, persons with disabilities, and other destitute households, ensuring they have a reliable and affordable source of food every month.

Likewise, Priority Household (PHH) ration cards are issued to economically vulnerable families identified under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). PHH households receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month at subsidised rates - Rs.3/kg for rice, Rs.2/kg for wheat, and Rs.1/kg for coarse grains. Unlike AAY, which targets the “poorest of the poor,” PHH covers a broader group of low-income families chosen through state-specific inclusion criteria such as income level, occupation, housing conditions, or social vulnerability. The PHH category ensures that a large share of India’s poor population has regular, affordable access to essential food grains. 

The AAY ration card is meant for the “poorest of the poor,” ensuring they receive the food security support. Under this scheme, every AAY household gets 35 kg of food grains each month at prices – Rs 3/kg for rice, Rs 2/kg for wheat, and Rs 1/kg for coarse grains, irrespective of number of members in the family. The scheme focuses on families with no steady income or support, including landless labourers, widows, persons with disabilities, and other destitute households, ensuring they have a reliable and affordable source of food every month.  

Likewise, Priority Household (PHH) ration cards are issued to economically vulnerable families identified under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). PHH households receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month at subsidised rates - Rs 3/kg for rice, Rs 2/kg for wheat, and Rs.1/kg for coarse grains. Unlike AAY, which targets the “poorest of the poor,” PHH covers a broader group of low-income families chosen through state-specific inclusion criteria such as income level, occupation, housing conditions, or social vulnerability. The PHH category ensures that a large share of India’s poor population has regular, affordable access to essential food grains. 

“My old ration card was lost, but I was still receiving grain on it. After completing all formalities for a new card, I was issued one. When I visited the ration shop four times to check its activation, I discovered the ration inspector had recorded my annual family income as ₹80,000, much higher than on my previous card. Because of this error, the new card never activated. Now I am left without ration and with a non-functional card,” said Hanumant Sarak on the Mumbai Rationing Kruti Samiti forum, led by Ramesh Kadam and Samadhan Rajwardhan. 

In Maharashtra, the upper income limit to qualify for a Priority Household (PHH) ration card is ₹59,000 annually for urban households and ₹44,000 for rural households. This means a family earning ₹5,000 a month (₹60,000 a year) is ineligible for subsidised food grains under the PDS. 

Satish Dhebe, a PDS shop owner in Kari village, Bhor Tehsil, Pune, explained how digitisation has excluded many beneficiaries.

“eKYC is now compulsory, and we cannot distribute grains without it. During eKYC, the ration card holder must submit their Aadhaar and a linked mobile number. Since Aadhaar is linked to PAN cards, the government can verify income. If it exceeds ₹59,000 or ₹44,000 annually, the system automatically blocks registration,” he said. 

Dhebe added, “The government counts all income sources, including funds under schemes like Ladki Bahin, which only amount to ₹18,000 annually in Maharashtra.” 

PDS shop owners like Dhebe try to assist cardholders, but face challenges such as poor internet connectivity, frequent server failures, and inadequate compensation for their work. 

“We get only about one to one-and-a-half rupees commission per kilo. I receive around 8,000 kilos of grain under the PDS, so I earn about ₹12,000 a month—and that too after waiting six months. I sell other groceries and goods apart from PDS; that’s how I survive. Those who rely solely on PDS shops and receive less stock are in an even worse position—the less we distribute, the lower our commission,” said Satish Dhebe. 

People collecting PDS supplies from Dhebe’s shop face multiple challenges. Women cannot access grains without e-verification and an OTP. Many families share a single mobile phone, making it difficult for the person with the phone to be available at home or at the shop to provide the OTP. 

“Many senior citizens and children under five in my village cannot match their thumb impressions, whether for eKYC or for obtaining food grains every month,” Dhebe added. 

The Mumbai Rationing Kruti Samiti, a Mumbai-based forum, receives hundreds of queries and help requests every month from people facing eKYC issues via the ‘Mera Ration’ app, ration card deletions, and non-allotment of grains despite eligibility.

“The ongoing eKYC drive, which has reportedly led to the deletion of over 2 crore ration cards, has lacked transparency from the start. There is no public data on who lost their cards or why. The list of cancelled ration cards and the reasons for cancellation should be made public, and affected cardholders must be allowed to contest deletions,” said Sameet Panda, a right-to-food campaigner. 

Panda added, “Many cards appear to have been cancelled based on outdated income thresholds from 2013–14, which have never been revised. Others were lost simply because people could not complete eKYC due to lack of Aadhaar, biometric failures, poor access to digital infrastructure, or other systemic barriers.”