Gulf labourers worried about e-KYC norms brought in by Centre

If the thumb impression of any one of the family members is not given, his/her name will be deleted from the ration card, a ration dealer from Peddapalli said.

Karimnagar: Gulf migrant labourers are worried about the new e-KYC norms brought in by the Centre for updating and acquiring new ration cards.

Those in the Gulf in search of a livelihood need the cards but are a worried lot now since it is not possible to do the e-KYC process from abroad.

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Though their family members are able to do it here, those abroad are in a fix now. In order to streamline the ration card system by eradicating fake and deceased persons’ names, the Centre had started taking e-KYC details across the country. As part of the programme, ration card holders have to upgrade their names by giving thumb impressions at fair price shops. All members of a family have to upgrade their names by giving thumb impressions.

If the thumb impression of any one of the family members is not given, his/her name will be deleted from the ration card, a ration dealer from Peddapalli said.

Scores of people from the erstwhile Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Medak had migrated abroad long back itself especially to Gulf countries in search of employment. About 3.5 lakh people are said to have migrated to the Gulf from Karimnagar district alone. The migrations are high in Jagtial and Rajanna-Sircilla districts. Majority of the people who migrated to the UAE are poor and went there by borrowing money from private money lenders.

So, it will become a huge burden for them to come to India for the purpose of e-KYC. In this regard, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar also wrote a letter to the Centre asking to relax the e-KYC process rules of ration cards to protect the interests of Gulf migrant labourers. However, there is no response from the Centre yet.

Though they were denied rice and other groceries, migrant labourers wanted the government to continue their names in ration cards by treating them as a special category since ration cards are essential for getting other benefits like free health insurance, fee reimbursement for children’s education and other social security schemes. Speaking to Telangana Today, Emigrants Welfare Forum president Bheem Reddy Manda said migrant labourers would become ineligible for social security schemes if their names were removed from ration cards.

So, the government must continue with their names in the cards since migrant labourers were contributing to the foreign exchange for the growth of the country, he said.

Though no last date has been fixed yet for completion of the e-KYC process, Civil Supplies officials have been reportedly instructed to complete the process by the end of this year, sources said.