FCS&CA launches doorstep e-KYC drive, inclusion of left-out beneficiaries

Baramulla, Aug 29: Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) department Baramulla has launched a special campaign to extend doorstep e-KYC services and include left-out beneficiaries into the Public Distribution System (PDS).A statement issued here said that as part of this initiative, a dedicated team of employees visited the remote border villages of Chotali, Somawali, Gagarhill, Jabdi, Lajdi, Bankhod, Maidanan and Dudran to ensure inclusion of eligible households in the Priority Household (PHH) category, while also conducting door-to-door e-KYC to streamline the ration distribution system. E-KYC is a mandatory exercise conducted every five years to remove deceased or bogus souls from the PDS database. The campaign also seeks to address public grievances related to food and supplies at the doorstep of even the remotest villages. Moreover, it is creating awareness about updating Aadhaar details of children who have attained the age of six, so they can be added to ration cards. The department has also finalized the launch of the SMART PDS website, which will automatically remove non-deserving beneficiaries from PHH/AAY ration lists, particularly families owning four-wheelers registered in the name of any household member. Through such initiatives, FCS&CA department aims to promote transparency, accountability, and doorstep service delivery in the public distribution system.