Guwahati: The Meghalaya government will introduce an automated system from October 1, 2026, to identify and deactivate “silent ration cards” and detect duplicate beneficiaries under the SMART-PDS system, officials said.
The initiative is being implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensure that benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) reach eligible beneficiaries.
According to the Deputy Commissioner (Supply), West Jaintia Hills, the PDS portal will automatically identify “silent ration cards” on the 21st of every month. These refer to ration cards for which no successful ration-lifting transaction has been recorded continuously for six months or more.
Once identified, such ration cards will be automatically deactivated on the online PDS portal.
The system will also detect duplicate beneficiaries through Aadhaar-based cross-matching with the Central Repository.
An automated SMS notification will be sent to the registered Head of Family (HoF) immediately after a ration card is deactivated.
Beneficiaries who receive such an alert or discover that their ration card has been deactivated have been advised to approach their nearest Fair Price Shop (FPS) or the office of the Deputy Commissioner (Supply) during working hours.
A 90-day grace period will be provided to affected beneficiaries to complete their e-KYC and Aadhaar verification and seek re-enablement of their ration card benefits.