By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The Assam government has made e-KYC verification mandatory for all beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and warned that ration cards without completed verification may be removed from the beneficiary database.
The move follows directives issued by the Government of India and instructions of the Supreme Court aimed at ensuring 100 per cent e-KYC authentication of all NFSA beneficiaries in the state.
According to public notices issued by district commissioners across Assam, all ration card holders who have not yet completed their e-KYC verification have been asked to visit their nearest Fair Price Shop (FPS) and complete the process through the ePoS machine available there.
The government has cautioned that beneficiaries who fail to complete e-KYC verification may face deletion from the NFSA beneficiary list, potentially affecting their access to subsidised food grains under the public distribution system.
Authorities have urged all beneficiaries to complete the verification process at the earliest to avoid removal of their names from the ration card database.
Beneficiaries seeking assistance regarding the process have been advised to contact their nearest FPS dealer or authorised agent.
Official sources said Assam currently has 70,33,972 ration cards under the NFSA, covering 2,44,94,885 beneficiaries.
Out of the total beneficiaries, e-KYC verification has been completed for 2,07,38,508 people, accounting for 84.7 per cent coverage as of January 2026.
The Assam government has also deleted 2,64,197 ration cards over the past five years, with the highest single-year deletion recorded in 2024 at 1,61,516 cards.
The year-wise breakdown of deleted ration cards includes 11,120 in 2021, 28,590 in 2022, 38,590 in 2023, 1,61,516 in 2024 and 24,381 in 2025.
Officials said the key objectives of ration card e-KYC include identity verification, prevention of fraud and elimination of ghost or duplicate beneficiaries.
The process is also aimed at improving transparency and efficiency in the public distribution system by ensuring that subsidised food grains reach genuine beneficiaries.