India, March 26 -- The Government of India (GoI) on Wednesday said that Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed large-scale deletion of ration cards since 2014 as part of a nationwide drive to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensure benefits reach genuine beneficiaries.
Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, said deletions were carried out due to duplication, Aadhaar seeding, migration, deaths and identification of ineligible households.
As per official data, Jammu & Kashmir recorded the following year-wise deletion of ration cards: 2014: 64,079; 2015: 22,903; 2016: 50,709; 2017: 18,965; 2018: 82,394; 2019: 60,333; 2020: 61,265; 2021: 1,04,511; 2022: 75,137; 2...