Government flags 262,000 civil servants in PDS subsidy audit
A central audit has identified 262,000 government employees, chiefly from Indian Railways and India Post, as possibly receiving subsidised foodgrains through the public distribution system.
A senior official disclosed that the centre has flagged 262,000 of its own employees in a continuing audit of public distribution system data to detect wrongful receipt of subsidised grains. The flagged group includes 182,283 Indian Railways staff, 37,029 India Post workers and 42,968 persons identified through the Public Financial Management System, affecting roughly 1,017,647 beneficiaries. This accounts for about 0.13% of the 20.5 crore digitised ration cards nationwide.
Most states normally disqualify government employees, making the finding puzzling, and rules differ across states such as Bihar and Nagaland. Authorities have instructed states to confirm the records before deleting anyone from the beneficiary list. The exercise will be broadened to include personnel from the defence services and the home ministry, potentially bringing two of the country’s largest workforces under scrutiny. The centre’s food-subsidy budget for FY27 remains around ₹2.27 lakh crore, only marginally lower than the previous year.
Why it matters
It reveals possible misuse of a major food-subsidy scheme and shows the government tightening oversight of its own employees.
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