As many as 77 crore people in the country have been covered under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme through which beneficiaries can take their share of food grains from anywhere in the country, Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal said in Lok Sabha.

The scheme is now available in 35 states and Union Territories covering approximately 96.8 per cent of NFSA beneficiaries.

One Nation One Ration Card

• With an objective to ensure food security of migratory beneficiaries, the government is implementing national portability of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 as part of an ambitious ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) plan to ensure seamless access to Public Distribution System (PDS) and delivery of food-security entitlements to all beneficiaries covered under the Act anywhere in the country in association with all state/UT governments. 

• The ONORC reform has its genesis in the vision that the computerisation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in the country must be taken to the next level in ensuring food security in the country. This technology-driven system of portability is being implemented in most of the states and Union Territories where the system is being built upon the strong foundations of computerised TPDS operations including the installed infrastructure of electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices at the Fair Price Shops (FPS) and seeding of beneficiaries’ Aadhaar numbers with their ration cards.

• Initially, this was started as interstate portability in August 2019 in four states of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra.

• In January 2020, the facility of national portability of ration cards was seamlessly started in 12 states. 

• One Nation One Ration Card (impds.nic.in) portal is set up to monitor the national portability operations, transactions, distribution under ONORC plan in the integrated states/UTs.

• The main objective of the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) scheme is to implement nationwide portability of benefits under NFSA by integrating the existing PDS systems/portals of states/UTs with the central systems/portals under central repository of all NFSA ration cards/beneficiaries. 

• The creation of a central repository of all ration cards/beneficiary data of all states/UTs shall ensure that no duplicate ration card/beneficiary exists under NFSA.

• Also, One Nation One Ration Card mobile app has been developed. Besides migrant beneficiaries, this app can be used by all NFSA beneficiaries to get various information in respect of their ration cards, entitlements, nearby shops, registration for portability, etc on their mobiles. 

How does it help migrants in the country?

• The technology-driven initiative was conceptualised taking into account the problems being faced by migrant workers in getting government benefits.

• It is envisaged that nearly 8 crore migratory population may exist in the country.

• The migratory beneficiaries are now able to lift their entitled foodgrains from any ePoS (electronic Point of Sale device) enabled Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice anywhere in these states/UTs using their existing/same ration cards. 

• No one is required to physically carry their ration card to avail the benefit of portability. They only have to quote their ration card number or Aadhaar number to any shop of their choice.

• To ensure seamless inter-state portability of a ration card, Aadhar seeding of all ration cards as well as biometric authentication of beneficiaries through automation of all FPS with installation of e-PoS devices are essential. 

• ONORC was helpful to NFSA beneficiaries in availing food grains from any location during COVID pandemic/lockdown period. The central government has distributed free food gains of 5 kg each to the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna for 19 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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