New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- In a rare move, the government has flagged 262,000 of its own employees in ongoing checks of public distribution system (PDS) records for possible wrongful benefits in terms of subsidised foodgrains, a senior government official said.

The employees thus flagged comprise 182,283 from Indian Railways , 37,029 from India Post, and an additional 42,968 identified through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS). The ration cards linked to these records cover 10,17,647 beneficiaries, including family members.

To be sure, the cards account for only about 0.13% of the roughly 20.5 crore ration cards digitised under the NFSA across India.

"Most state governments disqualify central/state government employees as an ex...