As Tripura moves towards replacing old paper-based ration cards with durable PVC cards, the transition has led to strict action against 18 fair price shops due to operational inconsistencies.
Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury revealed on Wednesday that 72.2% of the state’s 37 lakh ration cardholders have completed their e-KYC, a prerequisite for obtaining the new PVC ration cards.
During the fourth day of the Tripura Legislative Assembly session, Minister Chowdhury, responding to questions from CPIM and Congress MLAs Nayan Sarkar and Sudip Roy Barman, clarified that the initiative is not about launching digital ration cards but simply upgrading the existing paper-based system.
However, the e-KYC requirement has posed a challenge, as many families have partial compliance, delaying the process.
The Central Government has set March 31 as the deadline, though the state is seeking an extension to ensure all residents benefit.
Beyond the e-KYC drive, the government is taking steps to modernize the public distribution system. Plans are underway to convert 600 fair price shops into model outlets managed by dealers and cooperative societies. Meanwhile, an extensive inspection drive between January 2024 and February 2025 led to scrutiny of 5,833 ration shops. As a result, the dealership licenses of four ration dealers have been temporarily suspended, while 14 others lost their licenses permanently due to irregularities.
