Stating that changes and additions have been made to ration cards across the state since May 7, the Minister for Civil Supplies, Nadendla Manohar, advised people not to panic. He said that there is no deadline for ration applications and those who are eligible can apply at any time. He said it is a continuous process and white cards will be provided to everyone who is eligible as per government rules.
He said that now the Center made eKYC a mandatory and every card has been eKYCed after the coalition government came to power. He said that Andhra Pradesh is the only state in the country that has completed 95 percent of eKYC. He said that eKYC has been completed for 4,24,59,028 people. He said that only five lakh applications have been received so far.
Manohar said that 60,000 people have applied for new ration cards, 44,000 people applied for sprinting and 12,500 people applied for change of address. He said that after the coalition government came to power, the data of ration cards was linked to the village and ward secretariats. He said that he is issuing ration cards to 4,24,59,128 people free of cost in the month of June.
He said that no one who has applied for the first time should worry though some difficulties will be faced while making changes. He said that the information of the cardholders will be put in the database and smart rice cards will be provided to the people.
The Minister said that the upgrade will be done only when they take ration and people should not go anywhere. He said that a marriage certificate is not required and a photo is not even required for marriage. He ordered the village and ward secretariat staff to take applications regardless of them.
He said that changes in eKYC, Aadhaar seeding, and the possibility of surrendering the ration card have been enabled through WhatsApp. He said that there is no delay in issuing new cards and that new cards are being issued to everyone within 21 days of application.
