Eligible poor families to be brought into PDS after e-KYC: Rizwan Arshad
Minister Rizwan Arshad announced that the government will initiate an e-KYC verification process to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) by identifying eligible families and removing ineligible beneficiaries. The government is also considering a revision of the income ceiling for PDS benefits to account for inflation.
Why it matters
Reforming welfare distribution systems is essential for ensuring that government subsidies reach the intended economically disadvantaged populations.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rizwan Arshad said on Tuesday (September 1) that the State government would take steps to bring eligible economically disadvantaged families into the Public Distribution System (PDS) and weed out ineligible beneficiaries after completing the mandatory e-KYC process.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Mr. Arshad said the exercise would take some time as the government needed to examine the existing PDS database and identify eligible and ineligible families. The process of examining the system had already begun and could take about three months, he said.
“Many eligible and deserving poor families are out of the system, while several ineligible families are availing themselves of the benefits meant for the poor. This needs to be corrected and streamlined,” the Minister said.
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