Ministry of Food and Public distribution has said about 4.39 crore bogus ration cards have been identified and removed out since 2013 for rightful targeting of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Genuine and rightfully eligible beneficiaries or households against the deleted ration cards are issued the new regularised ration cards, it said in a statement. 

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The Food ministry said that amid the technology-driven reforms to modernize the Public Distribution System, a total of about 4.39 crore ineligible or bogus ration cards have been weeded out in the country during the period from 2013 to 2020 so far by the state governments, said in a statement. 
To be transparent and improve efficiency in PDS, the government has digitised beneficiaries database and made it mandatory the attache the  Aadhaar number that has helped detect ineligible and bogus rations cards.

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Aadhar linking has helped to identify and remove  the de-duplication of digitised data and migration or deaths of beneficiaries during the run-up to the implementation of NFSA, it added. Under the NFSA, the central government is providing foodgrains to states for distribution to 81.35 crore people via public distribution system (PDS), also known as ration shops, at a subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg rice and Rs 3 per kg wheat, costing over Rs 1 lakh crore annually to the exchequer.

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