Mandatory eKYC as per directions of Supreme Court: Prahlad Joshi replies to Bhagwant Mann
Babushahi Network
New Delhi, August 24, 2025: Union Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi has replied to comments made by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on eKYC of consumers getting free ration under Central schemes and said that this eKYC was being done as per directions of Supreme Court.
Read his reply below:
Bhagawant Mann ji needs to get the facts right.
Firstly, the mandatory eKYC of beneficiaries was directed by the Supreme Court. Centre is merely asking the states to implement the same. Multiple extensions (3 extensions) have been given to Punjab government to do the same.
Secondly, Punjab has 1.41 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA 2013. And as per the NFSA 2013, it is the responsibility of the State government to identify eligible beneficiaries based on their own exclusion and inclusion criteria. Central government has no role in this.
Thirdly, Central government has not reduced even a single beneficiary from the approved 1.41 crore beneficiaries. The Central Government has merely asked to do a recheck on the beneficiaries based on the inclusion criteria (data points collected from multiple sources like CBDT, MCA etc have been shared) set by the Punjab Government. This way, deserving beneficiaries who were not part of this scheme (if any) may be added.
I repeat, 1.41 crore beneficiaries from Punjab will get free food grains. There will not be a single reduction in that number.
The State governments have been given the power to remove illegal beneficiaries(Central Govt is supporting the state governments with the required data) Instead of identifying such beneficiaries, Mann Ji is succumbing to the pressure from lobbies to continue to include these illegal beneficiaries.