Agartala, November 04, 2025: Aiming to bring greater transparency to the Public Distribution System (PDS) and provide digital support to ration card holders, the Tripura government has completed e-KYC for only 49.36 percent of beneficiaries as of October 31, 2025. The process has been carried out through 2,072 fair price shops across the state, and nearly all verified beneficiaries 99.99 percent have already received their PVC smart ration cards.

Speaking exclusively to Northeast Today, Sumit Lodh, Director of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, said that out of 9,86,733 ration card holders across Tripura, e-KYC has been completed for 4,87,050, of whom 4,87,021 have received their PVC smart cards.

Sharing district-wise data, the Director informed that e-KYC completion stood at 1,33,851 out of 2,50,112 ration card holders in West Tripura, 56,773 out of 1,13,927 in South Tripura, 50,711 out of 1,07,741 in Dhalai, 46,503 out of 1,04,014 in North Tripura, 57,026 out of 1,18,910 in Gomati, 48,929 out of 91,448 in Khowai, 57,974 out of 1,24,345 in Sepahijala, and 35,283 out of 76,236 in Unakoti district.

“Tripura is the first state in the Northeast to roll out PVC ration cards and introduce PoS machines for their use. When swiped at fair price shops, these cards automatically update connected databases, enabling real-time monitoring,” Lodh said.

He added that e-KYC has been made mandatory for all ration card holders. “In the first phase, 4.87 lakh beneficiaries have received PVC cards. The remaining beneficiaries will be covered in subsequent phases after completing e-KYC formalities. Delays are mostly due to issues related to Aadhaar, address verification, or relocation,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the department has also decided to convert 600 out of 2,072 government fair price shops into model outlets to further modernize the system.