Jaipur, Mar 4 (PTI) The Rajasthan government is making continuous efforts to ensure no eligible person is deprived of availing the food security scheme, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sumit Godara said in the assembly on Tuesday.

New names are being added continuously following the opening of the food security portal on January 26, he said while answering supplementary questions during Question Hour.

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So far 8.91 lakh new names have been added. The last date for completing eKYC has also been extended to March 31, he added.

The government added 12.95 lakh names last year, taking the total number of registrations under the scheme by the BJP dispensation to 21.87 lakh, the minister said.

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Godara said Supreme Court guidelines made it mandatory for people availing of the food security scheme to complete their eKYC.

Keeping in mind the beneficiaries' interest, the state government has continuously extended the last date for completing eKYC from August 15, 2024, to December 31, 2024, and now to March 31, the minister said.

He added that the state had a ceiling of 4.46 crore for food security and 4.39 crore people had been linked. Of them, 3.86 crore beneficiaries completed their eKYC.

Children up to 10 years of age and those older than 70 are exempt from eKYC.

Earlier, in a written reply to the original question of MLA Anita Bhadel, the minister said the portal was started to add the names of deprived eligible families.

Godara also tabled a copy of the letter issued in this regard.

During the past three years, 6.16 lakh applications for food security have been approved and 23.26 lakh names added, the minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)