India is pushing forward with a digital transformation in its welfare delivery systems, using Aadhaar-linked biometric identification to ensure that benefits reach only the rightful recipients. In recent years, this shift has gained momentum, but the latest policy changes have brought a new level of urgency for millions of Indian citizens. From ration card holders to farmers, people across the country are being required to complete digital identity verification to continue accessing government subsidies. With biometric authentication at the center, these changes mark a significant evolution in how India manages its massive public welfare programs.
At the center of this shift are two developments: the implementation of a digital farmer identity card called the Kisan Pehchaan Patra, and the mandatory use of eKYC by ration card holders through Aadhaar authentication. These measures, combined, are an effort that spans the country to rid India of fraud, make service delivery more efficient, and bring India's welfare infrastructure into the modern era.
India's welfare disbursal has long grappled with issues of duplication of beneficiaries, forged ration cards, and subsidy leakages for decades. The conventional paper-based system meant that it was hard to ascertain who actually qualified for benefits. The government of India introduced Aadhaar, India's 12-digit biometric identity system operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in the main welfare schemes to stem such problems.
The Aadhaar project, conceived to give each citizen a special digital identity, has become the spine of India's digital public infrastructure. It has been used over the past several decades to authenticate recipients of bank accounts, pensions, LPG subsidies, and other entitlements. Now, its application has spread even further, with Aadhaar now being central to farmer subsidy and food distribution systems.
Key Schemes Envolved:
eNAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market): Farmers will now need Aadhaar, to be able to avail the benefits under the eNAM scheme to establish one National Market for agri-commodities.
Public Distribution System (PDS): In order to receive subsidized food grains through Public Distribution System (PDS), ration card beneficiaries have to go through Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. If they don't, they may lose this benefit.
State Initiatives: Maharashtra is among the states that have implemented digital farmer IDs that are Aadhaar-linked, and they are mandatory for states to provide subsidies and support.
Perhaps the biggest innovation in the farming community is the launch of the Kisan Pehchaan Patra, or Digital Farmer ID. A source of truth identity card, so to speak, the Kisan Pehchaan Patra is to be utilized as a single identifier for farmer verification for central as well as state government schemes. By connecting the Aadhaar number of the farmer with his land record, crop data, and transactions, the Kisan Pehchaan Patra is a centralized platform for farmer support and well-being.
The scheme comes under the AgriStack, a larger digital platform that has been proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. AgriStack is designed to gather farm data, create profiles of farmers, and enable data-driven policymaking. The platform enables farmers to easily access government subsidies, crop insurance, market information, and financial services.
By March 2025, over 20.5 million digital farm IDs had been distributed already. The government's ambition is much higher, though. By In 2026–27, it aims to set up over 110 million farmer ids across the nation. Achieving that goal will involve breaking down some of the challenges like low digital literacy and poor rural internet connectivity, but the groundwork is set.
Aadhaar Enrollment: Beneficiaries and farmers without an Aadhaar number are required to enroll in order to continue being eligible for benefits.
Biometric Authentication: Access to subsidies now involves fingerprint or iris scan biometric authentication at the service point, say at mandis or fair-price shops.
Digital Farmer ID: Digital farmer IDs (Kisan Pehchaan Patra) are being provided by Aadhaar-linked states, consolidating all the information needed for easier access to schemes.
Benefits
Transparency and Accountability: Reduces leakages and enables subsidies to reach the targeted persons
Portability: Beneficiaries, under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, can obtain food subsidy from anywhere in India since they are Aadhaar-linked authenticated
Access to More Services: Digital identities can further be utilized to offer farmers market news, credit lines, and tailored farm counsel
Challenges
Rural digital literacy gaps.
Remote village poor connectivity.
Biometric failures or mismatches.
Make Aadhaar Enrollment Easy: Go to your local Common Service Center (CSC) or Aadhaar enrollment center.
Aadhaar to Schemes Link: Integrate your records with your Aadhaar number for all the schemes that apply.
Biometric KYC: Access Biometric verification - go through accredited locations and use mobile applications for biometric verification to gain continuing access.
Maharashtra, being India's top agricultural state, has been the first to adopt the new farmer ID requirement. The state recently declared that from April 15, 2025, only farmers with a valid digital farmer ID will be eligible for state-level agricultural subsidies. The shift has tremendous significance, with nearly 11.9 million farmers in the state.
The intention behind the policy is to eliminate dishonest claimants and ensure that farmers who have been verified, have linked to Aadhaar, and are eligible for the assistance, receive the assistance. By using a central dataset and biometric authentication, the state should be able to track subsidy disbursal with greater accuracy and more transparency. Farmers yet to sign up for the digital ID have been asked to enroll immediately so they don't miss out on essential financial benefit.
While the agricultural sector is being reshaped by the Kisan Pehchaan Patra, another massive Aadhaar-based update is taking place in the Public Distribution System (PDS). This system provides food grains and essential commodities to millions of low-income households across India. In order to continue accessing PDS benefits, ration card holders are now required to complete an eKYC process using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication.
The deadline for this verification process is March 31, 2025. Citizens who fail to complete the procedure risk suspension of their food subsidies, making this requirement urgent and non-negotiable for many. This mandate is part of the government's bigger initiative to weed out fake and duplicate beneficiaries, assuring true benefits to the right recipients of public food schemes.
Aadhaar eKYC, is a verification of identity utilizing biometric data such as fingerprint, iris scan, etc. This is performed with an electronic Point-of-Sale (ePOS) device in government service centers or ration shops. The ration card is linked to the individual's Aadhaar number, enabling verification, authentication and tracking of all transactions in expressing real time delivery of the service.
Uploading the biometric eKYC of ration cards has been made comparatively easy. In the majority of cases, citizens may proceed to their local fair price shop, where officials are equipped with ePOS devices to conduct fingerprint or iris scanning. The information scanned is compared automatically with the UIDAI Aadhaar database for verifying identity.
In rural and semi-urban areas, Common Service Centers (CSCs) and Lok Mitra Kendras are becoming important sites for KYC support. The centers provide digital services to citizens and enable those with low literacy or mobility to access the authentication system. Staff at these sites provide Aadhaar linking, biometric scanning, and electronic form submission to citizens.
Some states have also introduced mobile and web-based verification devices to make the process easier. For instance, the citizens of Himachal Pradesh can use the state's official mobile app to perform face-based biometric eKYC. This face recognition method is especially useful for disabled or elderly people whose fingerprints are not easily readable.
Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have become pioneer states to adopt Aadhaar-enabled biometric systems for PDS authentication. In Andhra Pradesh, the eKYC drive for the holders of ration cards has been implemented throughout the state. Beneficiaries must verify their identity using ePOS devices when collecting ration. It helps prevent diversion of subsidies and only authentic recipients receive government supplies.
In Himachal Pradesh, the state government took it a notch higher by providing facial biometric authentication through a mobile app. Citizens are able to undergo the entire eKYC process from home by uploading a selfie. This picture is compared with the individual's Aadhaar record to validate their identity. Such initiatives are facilitating the digital shift more smoothly and inclusively.
India's fertilizer subsidy program makes fertilizers available for farmers at prices much less than the market price. Aadhaar is now a part of this program.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) - The government has launched a DBT scheme on fertilizer subsidies from 2016 onwards. Under this scheme, after the retailer sells fertilizer to the farmers, the government will pay the fertilizer company 100% of the subsidy on the recorded sales, recorded using Point of Sale (PoS).
Aadhaar Authentication - The farmer must authenticate their identity using Aadhaar when they make the purchase. The PoS captures the buyer's Aadhaar number, land records, quantity of fertilizer purchased, etc. This approach has helped to limit the potential for fraud and ultimately, achieve that subsidies reach the appropriate individuals. The DBT scheme guarantees that the benefits the farmer expects are flowing to the farmer, and at the same time, the appropriate subsidy amount is being sent to companies.
Subsidy Payment: The subsidy payment occurs after the sale is registered in the PoS. After the government receives a sale report from the retailer, the retailer's PoS device transmits the sales details to the government and the subsidy amount directly to the fertilizer companies, keeping track of their payments as per their sale of fertilizer.
Urea Subsidy: The government-set price of urea is ₹242 for a 45kg bag (excluding tax). The manufacturer(s) is (are) paid the difference between market price and the MRP.
Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme: In the case of Phosphatic & Potassic (P&K) fertilizers, a uniform subsidy per kg of nutrients (N, P, K, S) is provided. Market-determined retail prices are regulated. For Kharif - 2025, subsidy rates are ₹43.60/kg (P) - ₹43.02/kg (N) - ₹2.38/kg (K). A special subsidy of ₹3,500/MT was also approved for DAP.
For Kharif 2025, the government has released ₹37,216.15 crore for P&K fertilizers, which is an increase of ₹13,000 crore from the previous Rabi season. The overall fertilizer subsidy in 2024–25 amounts to ₹1,91,836.29 crore.
Accessible Inputs: Fertilizers continue to be affordable to all farmers.
Transparency: Aadhaar and PoS-based monitoring minimize misuse.
Market Stability: Subsidy stabilizes fertilizer prices irrespective of global volatility.
Expansion of Nano Fertilizers: The government is encouraging nano urea and nano DAP.
Ongoing Monitoring: Movement of subsidized fertilizers is tracked via the integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS).
While Aadhaar-based authentication would be beneficial, India also has the issue of practically executing these systems at a national level. In much of rural India, good-quality internet connectivity is still a novelty, and authenticating in real time becomes impossible. While mobile coverage is expanding, gaps remain huge in rural areas.
Digital literacy is yet another barrier. Most older citizens, particularly from rural India, are not aware of smartphones, apps, or even biometric eKYC. For them, being strictly dependent on digital channels could mean exclusion unless supported by ground-level support staff or offered offline options.
Besides, biometric failure is not unheard of. People with compromised fingerprints, vision issues, or physical disabilities are usually challenged by fingerprint or iris-based biometrics. Even though face recognition is a very promising technology, it hasn't been deployed nationally to any great extent yet.
The government understood such information and is shifting to a hybrid model. This would include expanding offline KYC Channels, opening additional CSCs, and launching awareness campaigns to enable citizens to understand the process.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) - the governing body of Aadhaar - has transformed from a biometric ID provider to an essential service delivery actor. UIDAI, through its databases and APIs, is now integrated with most welfare departments, from agriculture to food distribution to health.
With the growth of biometric verification, UIDAI infrastructure will be leading the field in verifying identities and safeguarding fraud-free disbursal of welfare. Calculating the recent progress in PDS and farmer subsidy unveils how embedded Aadhaar has become in the government framework of the country.
Also, UIDAI Aadhaar authentication is being used, in real time, more and more for the purpose of authorizing food ration, farm subsidies, payment transactions, pensions, etc. As the government continues on new schemes, Aadhaar eKYC will be at the forefront of onboarding and monitoring beneficiaries.
The roadmap is apparent for India: open access, transparency, and a welfare structure using technology. The implementation of Kisan Pehchaan Patra and Aadhaar based authentication of ration cards is only the beginning. As more schemes begin to come under the UIDAI Aadhaar platform, we want duplications to end, corruption to decrease, and benefits to be delivered more effectively.
But this will also depend on how much the country narrows the digital divide. Making all citizens—wherever they are, whatever their literacy, age—able to complete successfully their Aadhaar eKYC is of highest priority. That involves putting money into aid services, digital literacy, and infrastructure so that there are no unnecessary exclusions.
Considering 2025 will be a watershed year in Aadhaar-led transformation, people are urged to act quickly to self-update their Aadhaar records, finalize their eKYC process, and get on the new digital welfare platform.
India's push towards going digital in the distribution of welfare is a milestone in accessing and managing subsidies and entitlements. Through requiring Aadhaar-based biometric verification and rolling out digital IDs such as the Kisan Pehchaan Patra, the government is working towards ensuring that aid reaches deserving individuals without leakages or delay. The reforms not only improve transparency but also prepare the foundation for a data-driven, modernized welfare system.
But inclusive implementation will ultimately determine the success of these efforts. Closing the digital divide, making eKYC easier, and achieving last-mile connectivity must remain the focus. As India transitions toward a completely digitized welfare model, empowering all citizens to engage—irrespective of geography or background—will be crucial to realizing inclusive development and national growth.
A Kisan Pehchaan Patra, is an online Farmer ID rolled out under AgriStack with the purpose of bringing together a farmers personal data, land ownership, and scheme eligibility under one cover. It ensures the provision of subsidies easily, prevents wrong targeting, improves data quality, and enhances transparency. It is already made compulsory in a number of states for PM-KISAN and will surely become compulsory all over the country.
The Aadhaar-based eKYC deadline for ration cards is March 31, 2025. If not done by this time, there will be suspension of food subsidies under the Public Distribution System (PDS), as Aadhaar linking has now been made mandatory to curb fake claims and ensure benefits reach the deserving ones.
To finish your eKYC, go to official portals of schemes such as PM-Kisan or your state food department, input your Aadhaar number, and complete through OTP or biometric. Otherwise, you may also visit a Common Service Center (CSC) for biometric verification and Aadhaar linking with farmer id or ration card.
In retail touch-points, farmers are verified while purchasing using Aadhaar-enabled point of sale machines which are used to provide fertiliser subsidy to the farmers. It is real-time transaction and the subsidy is paid by the government directly to the manufacturing companies that manufacture the fertiliser, thus preventing leakages and having transparency and genuine farmers only are benefited.
Yes, Aadhaar authentication is obligatory for eNAM and other agriculture subsidy schemes to verify farmer identity, to verify authenticity and prevent fraud, and to provide subsidies via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to only genuine beneficiaries who get enrolled through official websites using their Aadhaar details.
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