PDS and NFSA Food Security Scheme (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu)

What is the PDS and NFSA Food Security Scheme in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu?

PDS and NFSA Food Security Scheme in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is the union territory's Public Distribution System, run by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology of the U.T. Administration under the National Food Security Act, 2013. According to the U.T. Administration's own scheme page, the Act was implemented in the territory with effect from 1 December 2015, and entitlements are delivered through fair price shops equipped with electronic point of sale (ePOS) machines.

The National Food Security Act divides eligible households into two categories. Priority Households (PHH) receive 5 kg of foodgrain per person per month. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, the poorest slice, receive 35 kg of foodgrain per household per month irrespective of how many members the family has. The U.T. Administration records the priority entitlement in its own notice as 2.200 kg of rice and 2.800 kg of wheat per person per month, which adds up to the statutory 5 kg.

On price, the picture has changed since that notice was written. The union territory's page still shows the old statutory issue prices of Rs 3 per kg for rice and Rs 2 per kg for wheat. The Government of India, through the Department of Food and Public Distribution, made NFSA foodgrain free of cost from 1 January 2023, and in December 2023 extended free distribution for a further five years from 1 January 2024. A cardholder in Silvassa, Daman or Diu today should therefore not be charged for the NFSA quota at the fair price shop.

The territory has also invested in the plumbing behind the counter. The U.T. Administration has tendered for a system integrator to run an Aadhaar-enabled Public Distribution System, and the ePOS network is what makes One Nation One Ration Card portability work, an important feature in a territory whose industrial belt around Silvassa employs a large migrant workforce whose families' cards were issued in other states.

Who is eligible for a ration card in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu?

You can qualify if:

• You are ordinarily resident in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman or Diu and can prove that address.
• Your household falls within the income and asset criteria fixed by the U.T. Administration for Priority Household coverage under the National Food Security Act.
• Your household belongs to one of the most deprived groups identified for Antyodaya Anna Yojana, which typically covers landless labourers, households headed by widows or terminally ill persons, households headed by a person with a disability with no assured means of subsistence, and elderly persons with no societal support.
• Every member to be listed on the card has an Aadhaar number, since drawing the ration requires biometric authentication on the ePOS machine.
• The eldest woman of the household aged 18 or above is available to be recorded as head of family, which the National Food Security Act requires for card issue.

You are not eligible if:

• Your household is above the income or asset ceiling notified for PHH and AAY coverage. Such households may still be issued a non-NFSA or above-poverty-line card for identity purposes, but they will not draw the NFSA foodgrain entitlement.
• You already hold a ration card in another state or district. A family cannot hold two cards, and applying here without surrendering the earlier card leads to rejection and to deletion of the duplicate.
• You are not resident in the union territory. A migrant worker whose family card is in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha or Jharkhand does not need a new card here: portability lets them draw the same quota at a Silvassa or Daman shop.
• The household coverage limit set for the territory under the Act has been reached and no vacancy exists, in which case new inclusions are made as existing cards are cancelled.

What documents are required?

How to apply for a ration card

1. Collect the application form from the Department of Food and Civil Supplies or the Mamlatdar office of your district — Silvassa for Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Moti Daman for Daman, and the Collectorate at Diu for Diu.
2. Fill the form with the eldest woman of the household as head of family, and list every member with their Aadhaar number exactly as printed on the Aadhaar card.
3. Attach the documents: self-attested copies of all Aadhaar cards, residence proof, income or economic status proof, a photograph of the head of family, and the surrender certificate if the family held a card in another state.
4. Submit the file at the Civil Supplies or Mamlatdar office and obtain a dated acknowledgement with an inward number.
5. Cooperate with field verification. An inspector verifies the address and household composition, which is the step that decides PHH or AAY categorisation.
6. Collect the ration card once sanctioned, check every name, age and Aadhaar number printed on it, and get errors corrected before your first purchase.
7. Make the first transaction at your linked fair price shop with the biometric of any listed adult member.

Corrections, additions, deletions, splitting a card when a family separates, and duplicate cards after loss all follow the same route: an application at the Civil Supplies or Mamlatdar office with the original card and the relevant supporting document.

How do I check my ration card and entitlement status?

1. Check the national NFSA portal at nfsa.gov.in, which publishes ration card and entitlement information state and union territory wise, including the ration card search facility.
2. Ask the fair price shop dealer to show the ePOS transaction slip for your card. The slip records the quantity drawn, the date and the member whose biometric was used.
3. Visit the Civil Supplies or Mamlatdar office with your inward number for a pending application, or with the card number for a live card.
4. Look for the mandatory display board at the fair price shop. Dealers must display the list of cardholders attached to the shop, the stock received and the entitlement scale.

Why is a ration refused or a card rejected, and how do you fix it?

• Fingerprint not matching on the ePOS machine. Try another listed adult member; where no member's biometric works, the dealer can route the transaction through the exception procedure and you should get Aadhaar biometrics updated at an enrolment centre.
• Aadhaar not seeded against a member's name. Apply for seeding at the Civil Supplies office with the Aadhaar copy.
• Quota already drawn by another family member the same month. Ask for the ePOS slip that shows the earlier transaction.
• Card marked inactive after months of no transaction. Reactivation is applied for at the Civil Supplies office.
• Duplicate card detected in another state. Surrender the older card and produce the deletion certificate.
• Name, age or Aadhaar number printed wrongly. File a correction application with the original card; an uncorrected mismatch will keep failing authentication.
• Migration without portability. Use One Nation One Ration Card at a local ePOS shop instead of applying afresh, if your family card is still live elsewhere.

Key dates and what changes each year

Ration card applications, corrections and deletions are accepted throughout the year, the department has not announced any closing date. The two dates that matter historically are 1 December 2015, when the National Food Security Act took effect in the territory, and 1 January 2024, from which the Government of India extended free foodgrain distribution for five years. Monthly allocation follows the calendar month, and unclaimed quota generally does not carry over into the next month, so the practical discipline for a cardholder is to draw the entitlement within the month.

Where do I complain?

• Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology, U.T. Administration, which publishes its notifications and orders on ddd.gov.in and is the appellate authority for PDS complaints.
• Mamlatdar or Collectorate office of your district for card-level disputes and dealer complaints.
• District control room on 1077, listed on the U.T. Administration's official helpline page.
• CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in, the grievance portal linked by the U.T. Administration.

Underweighing, refusing to give the full quota, demanding money for free NFSA grain, or refusing a portability transaction are all offences against the fair price shop licence, and a written complaint against a dealer can be filed at the Civil Supplies office.