Income Tax Department will share info for identifying eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

Key Points

• Information Sharing: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will share income-taxpayer information with the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) to identify eligible beneficiaries for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is a food security welfare scheme launched by the Government of India in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to provide free food grains to vulnerable sections of the population to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.Under the PMGKAY, eligible beneficiaries receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month in addition to their regular entitlements under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The scheme has been extended several times, and as of January 2025, it is still in operation.The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) provides free food grains to households with a combined annual income of up to ₹2 lakh in rural areas and ₹3 lakh in urban areas. Refer Note 1
• Specified Authority: The Director General of Income-tax (Systems) in New Delhi is the designated authority for providing this information.
• Information Sharing Process: The DFPD will provide Aadhaar or PAN numbers along with the assessment year to the DGIT (Systems).
• Response Format: The DGIT (Systems) will respond with a “Yes/No/Not Available” flag indicating whether the individual’s income falls below the threshold for PMGKAY eligibility.
• Aadhaar-PAN Linkage: If the provided Aadhaar number is not linked to a PAN, the DGIT (Systems) will inform the DFPD of the missing linkage.
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU): An MoU will be established between the DGIT (Systems) and the DFPD to outline the details of data transfer, confidentiality, preservation, and other relevant aspects.

Takeaway

The CBDT is taking steps to facilitate the identification of eligible beneficiaries for the PMGKAY by sharing income-tax data with the DFPD. This initiative aims to streamline the beneficiary identification process and ensure that the benefits of the PMGKAY reach the intended recipients.

F.No.225/235/2024/ΙΤΑ-II

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes

New Delhi, the 31st January, 2025

Order under section 138(1)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961

Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of powers conferred under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 138 of Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’), hereby directs that Director General of Income-tax (Systems), New Delhi shall be the specified authority for furnishing information to Joint Secretary to Government of India, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution as notified by Notification No. 12/2025 (S.O.: 524(E)) dated 30.01.2025 for the purposes of the said clause in connection with sharing of information regarding Income-tax payers’ for identifying eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

2. The mechanism of sharing of information shall be as under:

(i)  Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) shall furnish the Aadhaar Number(s) or PAN(s) along with the Assessment Year(s) to DGIT (Systems), New Delhi.

(ii) If the PAN is provided or the provided Aadhaar is linked with PAN, DGIT (Systems), New Delhi shall furnish the response to Department of Food and Public distribution (DFPD) in the form of flag “Yes/No/Not Available” in respect of the threshold income level of the shared Aadhaar Number(s)/ PAN(s) and Assessment Year(s) as per the ITD database.

(iii) If the provided Aadhaar Number is not linked with any PAN in the ITD database, DGIT (Systems), New Delhi shall furnish the response to Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) in the form of flag ‘Information cannot be made available due to absence of PAN-Aadhaar linkage’.

(iv) The frequency of furnishing such response and Mode of exchange of information shall be decided by the DGIT (Systems), New Delhi in consultation with the requesting Department.

3. To facilitate the process of furnishing information, Director General of Income-tax (Systems), New Delhi shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (‘MoU’) with notified authority of Department of Food and Public Distribution, which inter alia shall include the mode of transfer of data, maintenance of confidentiality, mechanism for safe preservation of data, weeding out after usage, etc. The timeline for furnishing information shall also be decided by Director General of Income-tax (Systems), New Delhi in consultation with the notified authority and included in the said MoU.

4. A copy of MoU shall be forwarded to this Division for record purposes.

(Dr. Castro Jayaprakash.T)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Encl: as above.

Copy to:

1. PPS to FM/OSD to MoS (R)

2. PPS to RS/PPS to Chairman, CBDT and all Members, CBDT

3. Secretary to Government of India, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

4. DGIT (Systems), New Delhi

5. All Pr. CCSIT/DSGIT for kind information

6. ITCC Division, Central Board of Direct Taxes . Web Manager, for placing on the website www.incometaxindia.gov.in 8. Guard File T 7. (Dr. Castro Jayaprakash.T) Under Secretary to the Government of India Page 2 of 2

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Note -1 The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was launched from April, 2020, which is also operating at present. Under this, 05 kg food grains are provided per unit to Antyodaya/eligible household beneficiaries. The said scheme will continue till September 2022.

A. Eligibility conditions under Antyodaya Yojana applicable-
1- Don’t have your own land.
2- Do not have a pucca house.
3-Buffalo/bull/tractor trolley.
4- Do not have any fixed occupation.
5- There should be no poultry/cow rearing etc.
There should not be any business of financial assistance or financial assistance is not received by the government.
7-No electrical connection.

It is clear from the above that only the poorest of the Gram Panchayat will be eligible for Antyodaya ration cards.

B. Conditions of ineligibility under the eligible household scheme-
1- Such families in which any one member is income tax payer or the combined annual income of all the family members in urban areas is Rs.03 lakh and in rural areas the combined annual income of all the family members is Rs.02 lakh.
2- The family should have a four wheeler or tractor.
3-AC should be installed, which have generator of 05 kVA or more capacity.
4-Have arms license.
5- Residential flat of more than 100 sqm in urban area or commercial space of 80 sqm or more carpet area and more than five acres of irrigated land in rural area.