The newly elected government in Odisha, voted into power this June, has been leading some key restructuring in the welfare policies supported by a decisive majority. One of the key changes was undertaken in the public distribution system (PDS), wherein the state government mandated the central government’s directive of e-KYC verifications of all existing ration cards.
According to a response by Odisha’s minister of food supplies and consumer welfare in the state legislative assembly, more than 80% of 3.3 crore ration card beneficiaries have completed their verification so far, while about 67 lakh ration card holders are yet to do so.
The government’s e-KYC process requires Aadhaar-based biometric authentication for each family member through e-POS machines. This policy has already caused major disruptions in getting ration elsewhere in India. As a result, it raises serious questions about the implementation.
Is the e-KYC beneficial for distress migration?
Gouranga Nayak, a migrant security guard who lives in a joint family, rushed back home to Nabarangpur under the anxiety of getting the e-KYC done, putting his casual job on the line, wondering if he would be laid off for taking up so many unauthorised leave days.
According to the 2011 census, 80% of Odisha’s population is covered under the PDS, which includes coverage under the National Food Security Act and State Food Security Scheme. A large section of the state remains economically vulnerable despite claims of ‘significant’ poverty reduction over the last three decades.
In districts like Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, and Kalahandi, more than 90% of the population is covered under PDS. Odisha is also known for its distress migration and according to a 2023 report, close to 18 lakhs of the population move out of the state for better work opportunities.
The World Bank defines distress migration as “involuntary movement due to poverty and disasters”. These migrant workers work mostly in the service, brick kilns, construction, and textile industries. Such workers lack basic housing services, often living in hazardous conditions to remit money back home.
In a state with a twin problem of distress migration and economic vulnerability, mandating an e-KYC process for the PDS, rather hastily, raises significant concerns.
Also read: ‘Hungry Cannot Wait’: Implement Directions On Migrant Workers’ Ration Cards, SC Tells Union, States
At present, the e-KYC verification exercise by the state govt required all ration card holders to visit their fair price shop and get their e-KYC done, without considering the challenges faced by the state’s migrant population.
On investigating the responses of the department of food supplies during the current winter session of the Odisha Assembly – where several MLAs, across party lines, have raised questions about the e-KYC process – we found that e-KYC has been completed for 2.71 crore ration card holders out of which a mere 98,664 were verified outside the state.
The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme was brought by the Union government to facilitate migrant workers in availing ration at the place of their work through Aadhaar-based biometric authentication.
Had the ONORC technology been thoroughly implemented, beneficiaries like Nayak could have done this exercise at their place of work. However, the abrupt directive of e-KYC compliance precipitated migrant workers to leave for their homes to do biometric verification.
The provision of inter-state e-KYC was made available, but this information was never shared in the public domain, forcing lakhs of migrants to rush back home causing unnecessary panic, unwarranted expenses, and loss of wages.
Lack of transparency in public data
In an earlier article for The Wire, one of the authors argued how transparency in the PDS websites, public domains and portals has twofold benefits and how it helps to empower citizens to claim entitlements, and to redress grievances. In Odisha’s case, no information about the PDS is available in the public domain.
A browse through the social media accounts of the food supplies department and electronic outlets of other allied departments, to find out detailed information about the e-KYC processes, revealed that there is no information regarding the step-by-step process or rationale behind the government’s taking up such an initiative.
Instead, the department’s social media posts only disseminated information to the public that the e-KYC was being done smoothly at some fair price shops, and gram panchayats of random districts of the state. Such showcasing of smooth functioning of the e-KYC process concealed a deeply fraught social and political contest at play.
In effect, the stakeholders in the PDS did not receive important information about the process – the “dos” and “don’ts” about the e-KYC – even through the social media posts. They were informed about key details through word-of-mouth and via the media buzz around ration cards.
However, the food supply and consumer welfare minister’s politically charged and speculative information did not turn out to be in the public’s best interests.
Stirring false narratives for political gains
The Odisha BJP unit contested a politically charged election centering around ‘Odia Ashmita’ and an apparent bureaucratic takeover issue. The state food supplies minister, Krushna Chandra Patra, extended the same partisan demeanor to the sensitive food policy scheme as well.
Firstly, he claimed that almost 50 lakh fake or ‘bhuta’ ration cards are in circulation in the state and secondly, he said many ineligible ration card holders have procured these benefits politically and so, their government will make it fair for everybody through the e-KYC verification.
These statements created confusion among the public. ‘Bhuta’ in Odia refers to a ghost or a spectre that can functionally cause damage and hurt. As a result, Patra suggested that there was deep-rooted corruption in the PDS and it can hurt the public exchequer. He used the phrase to justify the e-KYC process for ration cards. However, the arbitrary number of fake cards alarmed 80% of the population who feared that their ‘tankakia chaula‘ (1 rupee rice) card would get revoked.
Like Rina, a middle-aged widow, many beneficiaries wondered whether a re-survey of ration cards would axe her 10-kilo rice entitlement, given that her son had recently purchased a refrigerator.
The second statement appears to highlight an objective to weed out recipients of unlawful political patronage and add new, rightful beneficiaries. However, e-KYC verifications are actually intended to ‘validate and ascertain the identity of the beneficiary’ rather than adding or deleting beneficiaries, according to a letter dated March 17, 2023, from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
A letter from the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs
The letter/standard operating procedure stated that the ‘non-compliant’ e-KYC cases are to be subject to field verification. Such misleading statements, such as the one by Patra, create unnecessary difficulties, job loss worries and a physical strain among the public.
Moreover, to an assembly question raised by MLA Sofia Firdous on November 27, the minister responded that “no false ration card has been detected in Odisha since 15th June 2024”. This completely negates the claims made by the minister in the first place.
The faux pas with the ongoing Aadhar-based e-KYC process needs to be brought to attention, especially in context of the burden it causes especially for migrant workers. There is a need for transparent and consultative policy-making exercises as it affects a large population.
Perhaps, an alternative mode like a physical-only verification could serve a better purpose to authenticate the beneficiaries. It must also be underlined why detailed policy-related information is an important requisite that needs to be readily available in the public domain, especially for an economically vulnerable population that heavily relies on government welfare schemes like PDS.
Such a sensitive policy should be administered in a non-partisan manner by giving adequate time and considering the needs and challenges of those who need it the most.
Dhiren Swain is a joint PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne and IIT Madras
Sameet Panda is associated with Odisha Khadya Adhikar Abhijan and also LibTech India
(The authors immensely thank Megha Manjari Mohanty for patiently editing this article.)
