INTRODUCTION: The Supreme Court ordered states and union territories to execute the “One Nation, One Ration Card” system until July 31 and to “operate community kitchens to feed migrants until the end of the pandemic,” according to the court. The Supreme Court also ordered the federal government to supply dry rations to migrant laborers for free until the situation improves.
The ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ is a technology-driven system that allows laborers, daily wagers, urban poor such as rag pickers, street dwellers, temporary workers in organized and unorganized sectors, domestic workers, and others to get their daily quota of food grains from any e-PoS-enabled FPS anywhere in the country.
In all states and UTs, around 23 crore ration cards have been distributed to nearly 80 crores NFSA beneficiaries.
A ration cardholder can only buy foodgrains from an FPS that has been assigned to her in the neighborhood where she resides under the current system. This will change once the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system is fully functioning across the country.
WHAT IS THE ‘ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD’ SYSTEM?: Under the National Food Security Act of 2013, nearly 81 crore people are entitled to buy subsidized foodgrain from their allocated Fair Price Shops (FPS) of the Targeted Public Distribution System – rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg, and coarse grains at Re 1/kg (TPDS).
Assume a recipient lives in the Uttar Pradesh district of Basti and migrates to Mumbai for work. She is currently unable to acquire subsidized food grains from a PDS outlet in her new Mumbai neighborhood. The beneficiary, however, will be able to purchase subsidized foodgrains from any FPS in the country under the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system.
The new method, which is based on technology, will identify a beneficiary using biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at FPSs and allow that individual to purchase the number of foodgrains to which she is entitled under the NFSA.
HOW WILL THE SYSTEM OF RATION CARD PORTABILITY WORK?: The goal of ration card portability is to make ration cards portable both within and across states.
While the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) portal provides a technological platform for inter-state ration card portability, allowing a migrant worker to purchase foodgrains from any FPS across the country, the other portal houses data on foodgrain distribution through E-PoS devices within a state.
A migrant worker or his family can use the Annavitran portal to access PDS benefits outside of their district but within their state. While an individual can buy her share of foodgrains according to her NFSA entitlement wherever she is, the rest of her family can buy subsidized foodgrains from their ration dealer at home.
HOW HAS BEEN THE EXPERIENCE OF RATION CARD PORTABILITY SO FAR?: Inter-state ration card portability is already accessible in 20 states, but the volume of transactions conducted using this facility has been modest thus far.
Only 275 transactions have been completed as of May 14, according to statistics available on the IMPDS platform. However, intra-state ration card mobility has a significant volume of transactions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/one-nation-one-ration-card-scheme-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/83978697.cms
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