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The Centre on Monday announced that its flagship programme – One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) – is now available all across the country after Assam joined it. The scheme allows beneficiaries of National Food Security Act (NFSA) to avail of foodgrains from ration shops anywhere in the country if they have ration card issued by any State.
“With this (Assam on board), the ONORC plan is successfully implemented in all the 36 States/UTs, making food security portable throughout the country,” the Food Ministry said in a statement.
During the last two years of Covid-19 pandemic, ONORC plan has significantly contributed in ensuring subsidised foodgrains to NFSA beneficiaries, especially migrant population, it said. Citing its as one of its kind citizen centric initiative, which is swiftly implemented all over the country in less than 36 months after initiated in August 2019, the ministry said NFSA beneficiaries from 21 States availed foodgrains under the ONORC from Delhi in April 2022.
Delhi is one of the major cities where migrant population is very high. In neighbouring Haryana, NFSA beneficiaries from 15 States availed of the foodgrains under the ONORC during April.
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Despite the achievements some shortcommings persist. The NFSA model can ease the fiscal strain on the StateAbout 71 crore portable transactions (43.6 crore under NFSA and 27.8 crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) have been recorded under ONORC so far, since its launch and out of which about 64 crore are done after announcement of Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. The PMGKAY scheme, launched in April 2020, allows all 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries to receive additional foodgrains (rice/wheat) of same quantity as under the law free-of-cost.
“The objective of this beneficiary programme is to empower all NFSA beneficiaries to become AtmaNirbhar for their food security anywhere in the country, through portability of their existing ration cards enabling them to seamlessly lift their entitled subsidized foodgrains (in part or full) from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice. This also enables their family members to lift balance/required amount of foodgrains on the same ration card from the FPS either at their native or any other place of their choice,” Food Ministry said.
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