Meghalaya to auto-deactivate ‘silent’ ration cards from October 1

The Meghalaya government will begin an automated process to deactivate “silent ration cards” and identify duplicate beneficiaries under the SMART-PDS from October 1, 2026, officials said.

The Deputy Commissioner (Supply), West Jaintia Hills, has informed all National Food Security Act (NFSA) ration cardholders in the district about the new system, which is being implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to streamline the Public Distribution System (PDS) and ensure that benefits reach genuine beneficiaries.

Under the system, the PDS portal will automatically identify “silent ration cards” on the 21st of every month. These are ration cards for which no successful ration-lifting transaction has been recorded continuously for six months or more.

Such cards will be automatically deactivated on the online PDS portal.

The system will also identify duplicate beneficiaries through Aadhaar-based cross-matching with the Central Repository.

An automated SMS alert will be sent to the registered Head of Family (HoF) immediately after a ration card is deactivated.

Beneficiaries receiving such alerts, or those who find that their ration cards have been deactivated, have been advised to visit their nearest Fair Price Shop (FPS) or the office of the Deputy Commissioner (Supply) during working hours.

Beneficiaries will have a 90-day grace period to complete their e-KYC and Aadhaar verification to facilitate re-enablement of their ration card benefits.