Food and Civil Supplies Minister GR Anil announced that the deadline for submitting online applications for priority ration cards has been extended to February 24.
The minister said in a statement that a total of 50,300 applications were received between January 24 and February 19. This is the eighth phase of online priority card application.
He added that cleaning up the priority list is an ongoing process. Responding to reports that claimed 8,531 families, including the extremely poor, had been struck off the list, he dismissed such reports as misleading and urged the public not to be misled by misinformation.
Under the provisions of the National Food Security Act, priority category ration cards that have not availed of rations for more than three consecutive months are subject to verification. If these cards are found ineligible according to the prevailing criteria, they are reclassified to the general category. Eligible applicants are subsequently assigned to the vacancies created in this way.
A total of 6,03,845 ration cards including 58,487 Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards and 5,45,348 Priority Household (PHH) cards were reclassified and issued during the tenure of the present government.
Published – 20 February 2026 21:00 IST