Major step towards achieving ‘One Nation One Ration Card’

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi  : In a major step towards  achieving the objective of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, on August 9, 2019, inaugurated the inter-State portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra. This will enable beneficiaries from either States’ cluster to avail the benefits accruing to them under the National Food Security Act from any of the two States.

Addressing the media after inaugurating the inter-State portability, Paswan said that today marks the beginning of National level portability of Ration Cards which has begun with the two States’ clusters. He stated that after leveraging the progress under Computerisation scheme, 11 States/UT of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Tripura have implemented the intra-State portability of ration card holders to lift the entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop within their State. Further, it is envisaged that the inter-State portability shall be introduced in the 11 States having already implemented intra-State portability by January 1, 2020.

Paswan further added that all other States/UTs having attained requisite readiness for inter-State portability shall be integrated in a phased manner thereby enabling nation-wide portability of ration card holders to receive subsidised foodgrains under NFSA from anywhere in the country by June 1, 2020.

The Union Minister said that this initiative shall be very helpful for the large migratory population of the country who migrate from one part of the country to other in search of job/employment, marriage, or any other reason and find difficulty in accessing subsidised foodgrains in the present system, according to a PIB release.

To sustain the reforms brought in by the ongoing scheme of ‘End-to-End Computerisation of TPDS Operations’ and to introduce new reforms, the Department of Food & Public Distribution is targeting implementation of nation-wide portability in distribution of subsidised foodgrains to the beneficiaries without the need of obtaining a new ration card under ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ System.