look news india
An important update has been released for millions of beneficiaries taking advantage of free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Annan Yojana (PMGKAY). Now, ration card holders will be mandatory to complete their Electronic No Your Customer (EKYC) before 30 June 2025. If you do not do this, you may have trouble getting free ration or your ration supply can also be stopped.
The main objective of this step is to bring transparency in the system, prevent fraud and ensure that only eligible persons get the benefit of free grains. Under the PMGKAY launched by the central government, eligible ration card holders get wheat, rice or coarse grains for free every month. The duration of this scheme has been extended by December 2028, so that millions of poor families of the country will continue to get food security.
How to do EKYC and why is it important?
Under the EKYC process, the beneficiaries have to link their ration cards to Aadhaar and verify it. This verification process can be completed through biometric (fingerprint or iris) verification or OTP (One Time Password) based verification through Point of Sale (POS) machines installed at the shops of the public distribution system (PDS). This will ensure that only the right person receives ration and fake ration cards or fraud claims can be abolished.
The government is constantly making aware of this compulsory EKYC. It is necessary to have EKYC of all the families where ration card holders are present. If a member of a family does not get EKYC done, then the ration of his share may stop getting. The government has clarified that this step has been taken to ensure that every qualified beneficiary reaches free grains directly and without any leakage.
Therefore, all ration card holders are requested to go to their nearest public distribution system shop or contact the concerned authorities to complete their EKYC process before the last date of 30 June 2025 so that they can continue the benefit of free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana without any obstruction.