JAMMU: A total of 67 lakh beneficiaries in Jammu and Kashmir are receiving free rations every month under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), as part of the government’s efforts to ensure food security for vulnerable households.
Union Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Sanjeev Chopra, visited Jammu and reviewed the functioning of the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in the region. He assessed the implementation of various schemes and reforms, commending the department’s efforts in streamlining the Public Distribution System (PDS).
During interactions with officials of the FCS&CA and FCI, the Union Secretary urged them to maintain efficiency and take necessary follow-up actions on suspect beneficiaries, whose details are being shared by the Government of India with states and union territories. He also instructed the FCI to ensure adequate availability of food grains in different districts, as per the Route Optimization Plan.
Reviewing wheat procurement in the region, Chopra directed the FCI and FCS&CA to maximise procurement efforts to meet targets set by the Centre for the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2025-26.
Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA, Zubair Ahmad, presented an overview of the department’s functioning, highlighting new initiatives and concerns raised by the central government. He informed the Union Secretary that the department currently provides free and subsidised food grains to 24.76 lakh households, covering a total of 98.81 lakh beneficiaries. While 67 lakh beneficiaries receive free rations under PMGKAY, another 31.75 lakh beneficiaries in the Non-Priority Households (NPHH) group receive food grains at highly subsidised rates.
The distribution network in Jammu and Kashmir comprises 6,622 sale outlets, of which 6,390 operate online. Ahmad noted that Aadhaar authentication has reached 95 per cent in the distribution process. Additionally, 100 per cent Aadhaar seeding has been achieved, with e-KYC completed for 87 per cent of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and 75 per cent of beneficiaries in the NPHH category.
He also informed the Union Secretary that a Route Optimization Plan has been implemented on a trial basis in eight districts and will be fully operational across Jammu and Kashmir by June 2025. The status of the SMART PDS initiative in the union territory was also reviewed.
Regarding the One Nation-One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, the Union Secretary was informed that Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 1.66 lakh interstate and 29.33 lakh intrastate transactions under NFSA, positioning the region ninth in the country.
