New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) With reports of Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries being denied subsidised rations for want of Aadhaar number or failure of biometric authentication, the Central government on Saturday clarified that eligible beneficiaries can have their Aadhaar numbers linked to ration cards/smart cards till December 31. They should not be denied foodgrains on this count.
'The Centre is aware of the challenges in the transition to the Point of Sale (PoS)-based Aadhaar authentication system in the PDS. It has, therefore, issued instructions to ensure that while Aadhaar-based authentication needs to be promoted, no eligible beneficiary under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) should be deprived of the entitled quantity of foodgrains for want of Aadhaar number or failure of biometric authentication,' a Food Ministry press note said here.
The Ministry was reacting to recent reports of an alleged starvation death of a woman in Bareilly district on the heels of the death of an 11-year-old girl in Simdega district in Jharkhand last month.