Bengal Govt backs ration-bank account linking, dealers fear end of food subsidy system

The West Bengal government has raised no objections to the central government's proposal to link ration cards with bank accounts. However, this decision has sparked concerns among ration dealers and farmers' organizations. They fear that this move could gradually phase out the ration system and pave the way for direct cash subsidy transfers to bank accounts.

This proposal was put forward during a meeting between the Union Food Secretary and state food secretaries on February 28. The Centre suggested that ration cards should now be directly linked to bank accounts. This has raised questions about whether the distribution of food grains will eventually be discontinued and replaced with direct cash transfers.

The Bengal government has not opposed the move but has suggested that the bank account details of ration cardholders can be obtained through Aadhaar since Aadhaar is already linked to ration cards. Ration cards have already been linked to Aadhaar, and bank accounts are also linked to Aadhaar through the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The West Bengal Food and Supplies Department, in a letter to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, suggested that instead of collecting bank account details separately, they could be retrieved from NPCI.

While this stance of the state government strengthens the financial integration of central welfare schemes, it has also led to dissatisfaction among various stakeholders. The All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation fears that this initiative might be a step toward completely shutting down the ration distribution system. The federation’s general secretary, Bishwambhar Basu, stated, "It seems that some top government officials, ahead of the assembly elections, are keeping the state government in the dark and conspiring under the Centre’s influence to dismantle the Khadya Sathi scheme. This will not only affect the ration scheme but also the policy of purchasing paddy from farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP)."

In 2017-18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it mandatory to link bank accounts with Aadhaar and PAN cards. However, the Supreme Court later clarified that accounts not receiving government subsidies do not need to be linked with Aadhaar. Despite this, most banks still insist on Aadhaar-linking, and the process is carried out through NPCI. In this context, the latest stance of the West Bengal government indicates that while it is willing to implement the Centre’s initiative through Aadhaar, it does not support the separate collection of bank account details. With the 2026 assembly elections approaching, this decision could become a subject of political debate.