Mera Ration 2.0 and Mera eKYC: Ration Card eKYC Status Guide

Ration card eKYC can be done at home with the Mera eKYC app, which uses an Aadhaar OTP and a live face scan, or at a Fair Price Shop using a fingerprint or iris scan. Mera Ration 2.0 is a separate app: it shows your card, family members, entitlement and last distribution, but it is not where the face scan happens. There is no single all-India eKYC last date. States run their own drives, and the Centre told Parliament in July 2026 that no ration card had been reported cancelled solely for missing eKYC.

Checked against official sources: 16 September 2026. RTI Wiki is an independent guide, not a government service. It does not check your ration card or collect Aadhaar numbers. People also search for these apps as मेरा राशन 2.0, मेरा ईकेवाईसी and Mera KYC.

• Mera Ration App, also called Mera Ration 2.0, is published by National Informatics Centre: Google Play and App Store. It shows card and member details, monthly entitlement, last distribution and the nearest Fair Price Shop, and takes grievances and request status.
• Mera eKYC is published by National Informatics Centre, DFPD Division, for Aadhaar-based face authentication of ration card holders: Google Play.
• AadhaarFaceRD is UIDAI's face-capture service. Mera eKYC calls it during the scan, and it has no icon or Open button: Google Play.

Is the Mera eKYC app real or fake? The genuine app is published on Google Play by National Informatics Centre, DFPD Division, shows more than 1 crore downloads, lists [email protected] as its support email and was last updated on 31 August 2026. RTI Wiki found no separate official Mera eKYC website, so treat any “Mera eKYC portal login” page that asks for your Aadhaar number and OTP with suspicion. Install only from the listings above.

The same FaceRD service is used by gas companies for LPG eKYC. Completing ration eKYC does not clear your LPG eKYC, and the reverse is also true.

eKYC is mandatory, but the deadline is set by your State, not by one national notice. These are the facts on record:

• Every five years. The Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015, as amended, requires States and UTs to review beneficiary lists and complete eKYC every five years. It also lets them temporarily disable ration cards of inactive or duplicate beneficiaries. This is stated in the Lok Sabha answer of 1 April 2026, question 6184. The 2025 amendment took effect on 22 July 2025. Under it, cards unused for six months can be disabled pending field verification and eKYC within three months, as summarised by SCC Online.
• No automatic cancellation reported. In its 22 July 2026 Lok Sabha answer, question 493, the Department of Food and Public Distribution said no ration cards had been reported cancelled solely because eKYC or Aadhaar authentication was not completed. States do list eKYC mismatches among cancellation reasons, alongside duplicates, deaths and permanent migration.
• Most people are already done. eKYC was complete for 87.37% of PDS beneficiaries as on 31 January 2026, according to the Lok Sabha answer of 18 March 2026, question 4328.
• Why the push continues. A central data-matching exercise flagged 8.51 crore beneficiaries for field verification. States removed 2.21 crore as ineligible and retained 2.64 crore as eligible, per the 1 April 2026 answer, question 5999. Among the markers used were deceased beneficiaries and “silent” cards that had not drawn ration for a long time.
• State deadlines vary. For example, Karnataka cardholders were asked to finish eKYC for every member by 30 September 2026, as reported on 8 September 2026. Check your own State food department's notice for the date that applies to you. A date quoted on a video or an unofficial website is not a government notice.

Use this route if the member has a working phone camera and access to the mobile number linked to their Aadhaar.

1. Install both apps from the official listings. Install or update Mera eKYC and AadhaarFaceRD. FaceRD will not show an Open button; that is normal.
2. Keep the member present. The face being scanned must belong to the person whose eKYC you are doing. Nobody else's face can complete it.
3. Open Mera eKYC and choose the correct State. Pick the State or location options it asks for honestly. Choosing a different State to get past an error will not help.
4. Enter the Aadhaar number and verify the OTP. The NIC listing says the user enters the Aadhaar number for OTP authentication, and the app performs Aadhaar-based face authentication.
5. Complete the live face scan. Use good front lighting, remove glasses and face coverings, hold the phone at eye level and follow the prompt until the result screen appears.
6. Save the final result. Take a screenshot of the success or failure message with the date. A green tick during the scan is not the same as a completed submission, so wait for the final screen.
7. Recheck the record later. Ask the Fair Price Shop or use your State's ration card service to confirm the member's record has updated. RTI Wiki found no official, universal update period.

You do not need the app at all. eKYC can be done on the ePoS machine at a Fair Price Shop, where DFPD's advisory lets dealers start eKYC for members who come in at distribution time.

• Authentication modes. The PDS supports single finger, fusion finger, iris and Aadhaar OTP authentication. The Department told the Rajya Sabha that fusion-finger authentication succeeds about 99% of the time (answer of 10 February 2026, question 1159).
• Away from your home State? DFPD's advisory of 25 June 2024 enabled eKYC at any Fair Price Shop, irrespective of the beneficiary's home State, for States using NIC's common ePoS software. States with their own ePoS software were asked to build the same facility, so a migrant worker should ask the local dealer first.
• Biometrics not matching? Repeated fingerprint or face failures sometimes point to outdated Aadhaar biometrics. See Aadhaar authentication failed or biometrics locked before paying anyone to “fix” it.

There is no single national eKYC status page. Use one of these official routes:

1. Ask at your Fair Price Shop. Ask the dealer to check each member and, if anyone is pending, to do eKYC on the ePoS machine.
2. Open your State's ration card service. Many State portals show member-wise details. In Karnataka, for example, the e-ration card RC Status page shows “Success” against members whose eKYC is complete and “Pending” or a blank where it is not, according to the report cited above. Find your State through the NFSA State and UT ration card portal directory.
3. Open Mera Ration 2.0. It shows member and demographic details and last month's distribution status. If a member is missing, that is a membership question rather than an eKYC one.
4. Call the helpline. Use your State's 1967 or 1800-series food helpline, or 14445, the One Nation One Ration Card number that the Centre asked all States to enable (PIB factsheet).

For a card you applied for recently, see the ration card status guide. For a name missing from the card, see adding or removing a ration card member and checking a member-addition request. eKYC and adding a member are separate tasks.

• No OTP arrives. The OTP goes to the mobile number linked to Aadhaar, which may be old or unreachable. Check the SIM and signal. If that number is no longer yours, do eKYC at the ration shop by fingerprint or iris.
• FaceRD installed but no Open button. This is expected: UIDAI describes FaceRD as a “headless” app that other apps call. Go back to Mera eKYC and start the scan there.
• Face scan finishes, then “Failed”. Authentication did not go through. Update both apps and retry later in good daylight. If it keeps failing, use the shop's fingerprint or iris route.
• App freezes on the State or location screen. Many users reported this in recent Play Store reviews. Update the app, allow location permission and restart the phone. If it persists, use the shop.
• “Not reported by State”, or member not found. No official explanation is published, but it points to a gap in the State's member record. Ask the food office to check the member's record and Aadhaar mapping. Do not file a duplicate card application.
• Submitted but still pending. Approval is not complete. Under DFPD's eKYC guidelines, a block or sub-district officer matches the Aadhaar details with the PDS record before approving. Ask the food office whether approval is pending or was rejected. A rejected eKYC can be started again.
• eKYC done, but grain is short or refused. This is an entitlement or distribution problem, not an eKYC one. File a PDS grievance with the date, shop number and quantity.

For technical app faults, the Play listings give [email protected] for Mera Ration and [email protected] for Mera eKYC. Describe the device, app version and exact message. Never post an OTP or an unmasked Aadhaar number in a public review.

A pending eKYC or a failed scan should not by itself stop your grain. DFPD's letter of 24 October 2017, restated in Parliament on 1 April 2026, says no genuine beneficiary or household shall be denied its entitled foodgrain because of biometric or Aadhaar authentication failure due to network or linking issues, other technical reasons or poor biometrics. Where one member's authentication fails, another eligible member on the card can authenticate and collect. A nominee facility exists in exceptional cases.

If the dealer still refuses:

1. Ask the dealer to record the refusal and its reason. Note the date, time, shop number and quantity refused.
2. Complain through the grievance option in the Mera Ration app, your State PDS grievance portal, the 1967 helpline, or Anna Sahayata, the Department's WhatsApp and IVRS grievance service.
3. If there is no response, escalate on CPGRAMS. States have been told to dispose of grievances within 21 days.
4. Keep every complaint number together with the member's eKYC screenshot or acknowledgement.

If you need to know how your complaint was handled, an RTI application can ask the food office for the recorded eKYC status, the dates of entries, the instruction applied and the action taken. RTI gets you records; it does not itself restore a name or release grain. See how to file an RTI application, draft one with the RTI assistant, or read The RTI Playbook for the full method.

No. Mera Ration shows card, member, entitlement and distribution details and takes grievances. Mera eKYC is the separate NIC app that performs Aadhaar face authentication. You need Mera eKYC, plus AadhaarFaceRD running in the background, for eKYC at home.

There is no single national last date. eKYC must be repeated every five years under the TPDS Control Order, and each State sets its own drive deadline. Karnataka, for example, asked cardholders to finish by 30 September 2026. Check your State food department's notice.

The Centre told the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2026 that no card had been reported cancelled solely for not completing eKYC. But States do act on eKYC mismatches, and cards unused for six months can be temporarily disabled for verification. Completing eKYC early is the safest course.

Ask your Fair Price Shop dealer to check and complete any pending member on the ePoS machine, or open your State's ration card service, where many States show member-wise details. The 1967 and 14445 helplines can guide you. There is no single national online status page.

UIDAI built it to run in the background, so it has no icon and no Open button. Start the face scan from Mera eKYC and it will call FaceRD automatically.

RTI Wiki found no official Mera eKYC website as of 16 September 2026. The official service is the Mera eKYC Android app from National Informatics Centre, DFPD Division. Be careful with sites offering “Mera eKYC online login” that ask for Aadhaar and OTP.

The member must be present for their own live face scan, and the OTP goes to the mobile linked to their Aadhaar. If they cannot receive that OTP, take them to the ration shop for fingerprint or iris eKYC.

Often, yes. DFPD enabled eKYC at any Fair Price Shop regardless of home State for States using NIC's common ePoS system, and asked the remaining States to add the facility. Ask the local dealer.

• Mera eKYC on Google Play, Mera Ration App on Google Play and AadhaarFaceRD on Google Play, viewed 15 September 2026.
• NFSA FAQ for Mera Ration 2.0.
• Lok Sabha unstarred questions 493 of 22 July 2026, 6184 of 1 April 2026, 5999 of 1 April 2026 and 4328 of 18 March 2026.
• Rajya Sabha unstarred question 1159 of 10 February 2026.
• DFPD advisory on nationwide eKYC, 25 June 2024.
• PIB factsheet on One Nation One Ration Card and the 14445 helpline.