Barmer, Dec. 12 -- The Union government has ruled out any immediate revision in the state's National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiary limit, which continues to be capped at the 2011 Census figure of 44.6 million (4.46 crore) people. Responding to Bharatpur MP Sanjna Jatav's question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for consumer affairs Nimuben Bambhaniya said that NFSA coverage can be revised only after the figures of the next population Census are published. This effectively rejects Rajasthan's renewed plea for an expanded food security quota, even as the state's population has grown from 68.6 million in 2011 to an estimated 83-84 million in 2025. Both the previous Gehlot government and the current BJP government had repeatedly urged the Centre to either raise the cap by at least 15% - roughly 6.7 million additional beneficiaries - or allow the use of projected 2021 population estimates. The Centre has turned down both requests, citing the absence of fresh Census data as the 2021 enumeration remains pending. While Rajasthan remains bound to the outdated ceiling, it has so far issued ration cards to 44 million people. This leaves space for another 661,000 beneficiaries who can be added without exceeding the national limit. The Union government has asked the state to accelerate the identification and deletion of bogus, duplicate or ineligible cards - such as those belonging to people who have died, migrated or crossed income thresholds - to make room for new, eligible families. Reacting to the development, Barmer Congress district president Laxman Godara accused the Centre of denying food security to the poor for 14 years due to its refusal to conduct the Census, calling the situation "criminal negligence." Social activist Anita Soni said that thousands of tribal and landless families in districts such as Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh and various desert regions remain excluded from the ration card system despite acute poverty. "Rajasthan is still operating on 2011 population estimates, allowing only 4.46 crore NFSA beneficiaries, even though roughly 5.2 to 5.4 crore people require coverage today," Soni said. "This leaves an estimated 80 to 90 lakh vulnerable people outside the NFSA net. With no date announced for the long-pending Census, the state remains trapped in a demographic framework that is nearly 15 years outdated." Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government has announced a large-scale enrolment drive from January 2026 to fill the remaining 661,000 vacant slots for ration cards before the model code of conduct comes into force ahead of the upcoming panchayat and urban body elections....