Kerala has four ration card colours: yellow (AAY, the poorest families), pink (PHH, priority households), blue (NPS, non-priority with state subsidy) and white (NPNS, non-priority without subsidy). Yellow and pink families get free rice and wheat under the National Food Security Act; blue and white cards buy rice at low state prices. A family is kept out of yellow / pink if anyone has a government job or pension, pays income tax, earns ₹25,000+ a month, owns a 1,000 sq ft+ house, a car, or more than 1 acre of land*. Check below.
Kerala ration card category checker
Answer about your family.
Free tool; nothing you type is saved or sent. Built and checked on 29 October 2026. Points marked * come from news or secondary sources; confirm on the official portal or office before you act.
The four cards
| Colour | Category | Who | Monthly ration* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | AAY (Antyodaya) | Poorest: destitute, tribal, widow / terminally ill-headed families with no regular income | 30 kg rice + 5 kg wheat per card, free |
| Pink | PHH (priority) | Poor families that pass the exclusion rules | 4 kg rice + 1 kg wheat per person, free |
| Blue | NPS (non-priority subsidy) | Others who opt for subsidy | 2 kg rice per person at ₹4 a kg |
| White | NPNS (non-priority non-subsidy) | Families above the limits | Rice at ₹10.90 a kg, quantity announced monthly |
Exclusion rules for yellow / pink cards
- A member is a government, PSU, bank, co-operative or aided-school employee, or draws a service pension.
- A member pays income tax.
- Family income ₹25,000 or more a month.
- House of 1,000 sq ft or more (under review in 2026: may become 1,200 sq ft*).
- A four-wheeler, except a single taxi used for a living (review may allow cars up to 800 cc*).
- More than 1 acre of land (not applied to Scheduled Tribe families).
In 2026 Kerala removed tens of thousands of ineligible priority cards after Aadhaar linking and offered penalty waivers to those who surrendered them*. If your family no longer fits, surrender the card to avoid a penalty.
Apply, change category or download
- Apply for a new card, add / remove members or change category on ecitizen.civilsupplieskerala.gov.in (or at an Akshaya centre).
- Priority category requests are checked by the taluk supply office with field verification.
- Download the e-ration card from the same portal after login.
- Check your entitlement each month at the ration shop (e-PoS) or on the Civil Supplies site.
AAY changes from the Centre
A June 2026 central proposal would replace AAY’s 35 kg per card with 7 kg per person; Kerala has about 5.94 lakh AAY cards with 18.3 lakh members*. Small AAY families would get less under that plan; nothing has changed yet as of October 2026*.
Related: Kerala welfare pension, KSEB bill calculator, ration card types, other states (Hindi).
Kerala ration card: frequently asked questions
What are the ration card colours in Kerala? Yellow (AAY), pink (priority / PHH), blue (non-priority subsidy / NPS) and white (non-priority non-subsidy / NPNS).
Who gets a pink ration card in Kerala? Priority households that pass the exclusion rules: no government job / pension, no income tax, income below ₹25,000 a month, house below 1,000 sq ft, no car and up to 1 acre of land*.
How much rice does a pink card get in Kerala? 4 kg rice and 1 kg wheat per person a month, free under NFSA*.
Can I change my white card to pink? Apply for category change on the ecitizen Civil Supplies portal; the taluk supply office verifies and decides. You must meet all priority rules.
Is there a penalty for wrongly holding a pink card? Yes. Ineligible families must surrender priority cards; the government has waived penalties for many who did so in 2026*.
Sources (checked 29 October 2026): Kerala Civil Supplies Department rules as reported by Onmanorama (2018, June-July 2026) and Kerala Kaumudi; rice prices from earlier Onmanorama reports*. civilsupplieskerala.gov.in did not open from our cloud server.
More free tools: Kerala welfare pension · KSEB bill · Karnataka ration card · Ration card types (Hindi) · Kerala Pravasi pension calculator