The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) will aid in the provision of cereals, rice, and wheat flour at reduced prices to the nation’s economically disadvantaged citizens. In view of the COVID-19 epidemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) plan for the underprivileged.
What exactly is the One Nation One Ration Card Yojana?
With the conversion of a standard ration card to the One Ration Card, all beneficiaries and cardholders will be able to buy subsidized food from any Public Distribution Shop across the nation.
The finance minister launched the ONORC plan on May 16 as part of the final phase of the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, which comprised Rs.20 lakh crore in stimulus money. This ration card has been introduced in all states and union territories around the country, and 20 states have already decided to implement it.
Highlights of the Union Budget:
Migrants to profit from One Nation One Ration Card –
During the Union Budget 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared that migrants in India will benefit from the One Nation One Ration system. According to Sitharaman, migrants can use their ration cards to purchase rations from anywhere in the country.
The One Nation One Ration Card’s Purpose
The National Food Security Act of 2013 entitles about 80 crore people in the country to subsidized food and grain. However, only 23 crore ration cards have been provided to the 80 crore recipients across the country’s states and union territories.
Previously, a ration card holder could only purchase subsidized food and grain from the PDS (Public Distribution System) allotted to them in their area. As a result, migrants who relocate to neighbouring places for work have encountered a slew of difficulties. However, by changing their existing ration card to ONORC, he/they will be able to purchase subsidized food at any FPS shop in any town or city.
The Financial Minister further stated that individuals who do not have a state or centrally issued PDS card will be provided one kilogram of ‘chana’ and five kilos of grain for the following two months.
Three Indian states have joined the One-Nation, One-Ration Card initiative.
Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that three additional states, Odisha, Sikkim, and Mizoram, have joined the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ system, bringing the total number of states and union territories to 20.
Paswan stated that Uttarakhand, Nagaland, and Manipur will join the national cluster by August.
Eligible beneficiaries under the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme will be able to use the same ration card to obtain their entitled food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any Fair Price Shop in the country.
The Food Ministry intends to roll out the programme across the country by March 2021.
Paswan stated that the necessary infrastructure work in these three states has been completed, including the upgrade of electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) software, integration with the central Integrated Management of PDS (IM-PDS) and Annavitran portals, availability of ration cards in the central repository, and testing of national portability transactions.
What are the advantages of the One Nation, One Ration Card?
The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) has been under development since April 2018. By 2021, all beneficiaries in all states and union territories are scheduled to have their regular ration cards converted to the One Nation One Ration Card.
The main advantage of the One Nation One Ration Card is that those who qualify for subsidized food grain may get it from any FPS shop in any city. With many individuals travelling to other cities and the prior difficulty acquiring food grain in any other city, the One Ration card can aid migratory workers all over the country.
Other advantages of the ONORC include:
- Under the ONORC, all recipients from one state are entitled to rations in other states where the ration card was issued. Ration cards can be used at any PDS outlet in the nation by any beneficiary. ONORC aims to provide migrant workers with universal access to PDS food grains. Aside from that, ONORC would provide the recipients with the option of selecting their own dealer.
- In many situations of misallocation, the recipient can quickly transfer to another FPS store if there is any foul play.
- This programme will benefit women and other groups since social identity and other contextual elements will provide them with a strong backdrop for obtaining PDS. The ONORC will also contribute to the achievement of SDG 2’s goal of eradicating hunger by 2030. It also attempts to address India’s terrible condition of hunger, with the country ranking 102 out of 117 on the Global Hunger Index.
How to transfer the existing ration card to the One Nation, One Ration Card Scheme?
According to the finance minister, the ration card porting procedure to the One Ration Card is intended to be done both intra-state and inter-state. The inter-state and intra-state mobility of ration cards would be done online through several websites designated for the purpose.
The Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IMPDS) would offer the technical framework for inter-state ration card mobility. Migrant employees will be allowed to acquire food grains from any FPS in the country as a result of this. The Annavitran portal will be the other website that will contain information and statistics for the distribution of food throughout the state via the E-POS system and devices.
The Annavitran site will assist migrant workers’ families and migrants themselves in using the Public Distribution System not just inside their state but also outside their district. The migrant worker may purchase his or her portion of food grain in accordance with their entitlement under the National Food Security Act, and the migrant worker’s family may obtain subsidized food grain from their ration dealer in their hometown.
Portability is now accessible in 20 states, with 275 transactions completed as of 14 May, according to statistics published on the IMPDS portal. According to sources, the number of transactions for intra-state ration card mobility is significantly greater.
List of States Involved in One Nation, One Card Ration Card Portability
According to rumours, the ONORC will be officially launched on June 1, 2020. However, as of now, 17 states have agreed to implement interstate mobility of the ration card under the NFSA. The following are the 17 states and union territories:
- Andhra Pradesh
- Gujarat
- Goa
- Jharkhand
- Haryana
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Rajasthan
- Maharashtra
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Telangana
- Bihar
- Himachal Pradesh
- Punjab
- Dadra & Nagar Haveli
- Daman & Diu
- Odisha
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
Odisha, Mizoram, and Nagaland will join the ONORC Scheme on June 1, 2020.
To summarize, the government’s decision to implement the One Nation One Ration Card is advantageous to migratory workers and their families that go to other states for work.
Latest News
The One Nation, One Ration system is expected to go into effect in January 2021.
The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has indicated that the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) system will likely begin in India in January 2021, ahead of the deadline of March 31, 2021. The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution stated on July 9, 2020, that the ministry is attempting to bring the other UTs/States on board. He went on to say that UTs and states have previously said that they faced a number of problems as a result of poor network connectivity.
14445 Short Code allocated as One Nation on July 17, 2020, Once upon a time, there was a Ration Card hotline for concerns.
The Department of Telecom has designated the 14445 shortcodes as the hotline number for the One Nation, One Ration Card system.
According to a DoT announcement, 14445 has been designated as the CMU’s hotline number and may be utilized for distress calls or beneficiary concerns. The number can be used for India’s One Nation, One Ration program. The notice also said that call centres will be established in UTs and states and that the One Nation, One Ration scheme will have a single phone number. The service is under Category I and must be provided by all service providers without exception. However, costs for the call will be imposed in accordance with the tariff plan.
The initiative was introduced by the Central Government in May, with the primary goal of allowing ration cards to be transferred across India. The plan was announced by the Minister of Finance. The administration was chastised for failing to provide adequate food for trapped migrant workers as a result of the lockout. The new regulation is anticipated to go into effect in March 2021.