Jammu, April 03: Union Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Sanjeev Chopra, visited Jammu on Thursday to assess the implementation of various government schemes and review the functioning of the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in J&K.
During the meeting, Chopra lauded the efforts of the FCS&CA Department in streamlining the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensuring transparency in food grain distribution. He directed officials to sustain their efforts and take follow-up action on suspect beneficiaries, whose details have been shared by the Government of India with states and Union Territories. The Union Secretary also emphasised the importance of the Optimised Route Plan, directing the FCI to ensure food grain availability across districts accordingly. He sought details of cost savings achieved through its implementation and stressed the need for efficient logistics management. Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA, Zubair Ahmad, presented an overview of the department’s functioning, highlighting its role in providing free and subsidised food grains to 98.81 lakh beneficiaries across J&K. He detailed that—67 lakh beneficiaries receive free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and 31.75 lakh beneficiaries under the Non-Priority Households (NPHH) group receive grains at highly subsidised rates. The food distribution network comprises 6,622 sale outlets, of which 6,390 are operating online. Aadhaar authentication has reached 95 percent with 100 percent Aadhaar seeding completed. E-KYC verification is at 87% for NFSA beneficiaries and 75 percent for NPHH beneficiaries. The Route Optimisation Plan has been piloted in eight districts, with full implementation expected by June 2025. The meeting also reviewed the implementation of One Nation-One Ration Card (ONORC) in J&K. Officials informed that 1.66 lakh interstate and 29.33 lakh intrastate transactions have been recorded under NFSA, ranking J&K ninth in the country. Following the review meeting, Chopra visited a Fair Price Shop in Jhajjar Kotli, where he interacted with dealers and beneficiaries. He instructed officials to update mobile numbers of ration cardholders to improve communication and advised steps to enhance the viability of Fair Price Shops (FPSs). The Union Secretary was accompanied by Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA Zubair Ahmad, Director FCS&CA Jammu Rifat Kohli, General Manager FCI L. Chatru Naik, and other senior officials. With an increasing focus on technology-driven reforms and better logistics management, the Public Distribution System in J&K is undergoing significant transformation, ensuring food security for millions while making the system more efficient and transparent.
