7-Dec-2022: Over 93.31 crore portability transactions recorded under One Nation One Ration Card

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan, for nation-wide portability of the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA) benefits, is presently enabled in all the 36 States/UTs (across the nation), covering entire NFSA population (around 80 Crore NFSA beneficiaries) in the country. Under the plan, the NFSA beneficiaries have been empowered with the choice to lift their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice, anywhere in the country, by using their existing ration card with biometric authentication on an electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device.

ONORC plan is particularly beneficial for those NFSA beneficiaries who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of temporary employment or for other reasons and miss out their food security benefits due to migration – such as numerous workers/labourers, daily-wagers, urban poor like rag-pickers, street-dwellers, temporary workers in both organized and un-organized sectors, domestic workers, etc. So far, a total of 93.31 crore portability transactions are recorded under ONORC.

2-Aug-2022: One Nation One Ration Card & India’s Agricultural Exports

Under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) can get their quota  of subsidized food-grains from any electronic point of sale device (ePoS)- enabled fair price shops of their choice by using their existing ration card with biometric authentication. ONORC is implemented in all the States and Union Territories making food security portable throughout the country. Under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), about 79.7 crore beneficiaries in the country have been covered by States/UTs through NFSA ration cards. The Department regularly pursue with concerned States/UTs to cover maximum eligible persons/households up to their respective NFSA ceiling limits.                                                   

The demand of organic agro-product from India is consistently increasing in the global market. As such, the quantity of Indian organic products exported during 2020-21 was 8.88 lakh MT as against 6.38 lakh MT during 2019-20 which amounts to 39.18% increase in export from India indicating considerable increase in demand of Indian agricultural products.

National Food Security Mission (NFSM) is being implemented with the objective of increasing food grain production through area expansion and productivity enhancement in the identified districts of the country. Under NFSM, assistance is given through state governments to farmers for interventions like cluster demonstrations on improved package of practices, demonstrations on cropping system, distribution of seeds of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs)/hybrids, improved farm machineries/resource conservation machineries/tools, efficient water application tools, processing & post-harvest equipments, cropping system based trainings etc. including plant protection measures, nutrient management/soil ameliorants for improving soil productivity and control of pest incidence. The mission also provides support to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for technology back stopping and transfer of technology to the farmers under supervision of Subject Matter Specialists/Scientists. KVKs are also assisted for production of Certified Seeds of Pulses & Nutri-Cereals in the project Supported under NFSM.

2-Aug-2022: Over 77 crore portable transactions recorded in One Nation One Ration Card Scheme (ONORC)

The Department of Food and Public Distribution is observing week-long activities to celebrate “One Nation One Ration Card” (ONORC) Scheme which was launched on 9th August, 2019, as a pilot project in four states.

ONORC is a technology driven scheme which is being implemented by the Central Government for the nation-wide portability of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA). This system allows all NFSA beneficiaries, particularly the migrant beneficiaries, to claim either full or part of their entitled food grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country through existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar authentication in a seamless manner. The system also allows their family members back home, if any, to claim the balance foodgrains on the same the ration card.

Since its inception on 9th August, 2019, in a very short span of time, it is now implemented in all 36 States/UTs across the country. Assam, the last state to come onboard, joined the plan in June 2022 and thus completing the pan-India roll out of the plan. Food security is now portable throughout the country. The Scheme is one-of-its-kind Citizen Centric initiative in the country.  Presently, the system covers nearly all the (~80 Crore) NFSA beneficiaries (almost the entire NFSA population). Moreover, on an average, about ~3 Crore portability transactions per month are being recorded under the scheme.

The objective of this beneficiary centric high-impact program is to empower all NFSA beneficiaries to be Atma Nirbhar for their food security anywhere in the country. The scheme has proved to be a tremendous value-added service to each NFSA beneficiary during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly migrant beneficiary. It facilitated them to avail the benefit of subsidised foodgrains with flexibility from any location during the lockdown/crisis period. Since inception (in August 2019), about 77.88 Crore portable transactions have taken place under the ONORC.

To make the beneficiary aware of the benefits of the ONORC, a vigorous awareness generation campaigning – in Hindi & Regional Languages was also carried out.

A specially customized Android Mobile App on ONORC “Mera Ration” has also been launched for the benefit of all NFSA beneficiaries. The application provides multiple functionality and makes portability of ration easier, specifically for migrant NFSA beneficiaries. Moreover, the application is now available in 13 languages.

Besides, a 5-digit ‘14445’ toll-free number is also available in most States/UTs under ONORC.

21-Jun-2022: Assam becomes the 36th State/UT to implement One Nation One Ration Card

Assam has become the 36th State/UT to implement One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC). With this, the ONORC plan is successfully implemented in all the 36 states/UTs, making food security portable throughout the country.

During the last two years of COVID-19 pandemic, ONORC plan has significantly contributed in ensuring subsidized foodgrains to NFSA (National Food Security Act) beneficiaries, especially migrant beneficiaries. This is one-of-its-kind Citizen Centric initiative in the country, which is swiftly implemented in a short-span of time covering about 80 Crore beneficiaries, after being initiated in August 2019.

The objective of this beneficiary centric high-impact program 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 of their choice. This also enables their family members to lift balance/required amount of foodgrains on the same ration card at their native/ any place from the FPS of their choice.

Since its inception in August 2019, about 71 Crore portable transactions (43.6 crore NFSA and 27.8 crore PM-GKAY transactions) have taken place under ONORC, delivering foodgrains equivalent to about Rs. 40,000 Crore in food subsidy through portability. About 64 Crore portable transactions have been recorded during COVID-19 period itself (from April 2020 till date) delivering foodgrains equivalent to about Rs. 36,000 Crore in food subsidy through portability. Out of these 64 crore portable transactions, 27.8 crore portability transactions were recorded under PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana), which was announced in March 2020 for distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains (Rice/Wheat) to NFSA beneficiaries to mitigate the Covid induced hardships. Additionally, as a key indicator, presently a monthly average of about 3 Crore portable transactions are being recorded, delivering the subsidised NFSA and free PMGKAY foodgrains with anywhere flexibility to the beneficiaries.

Another dimension under ONORC plan is the ‘MERA RATION’ mobile application which has been rolled out to take maximum advantage of the ONORC plan. The mobile app is providing a host of useful real time information to the beneficiaries and is available in 13 languages. So far, the App has been downloaded more than 20 Lakh times from Google play store.

9-Feb-2022: No need to physically port the ration card from one State/UT to another under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that under the technology driven One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan, as such there is no need to physically port the ration card from one State/UT to another, as the beneficiaries have choice to lift their foodgrains from any electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device enabled Fair Price Shop (FPS) from anywhere in the country, by using their same/existing ration card issued in their home State/UT. Since inception of the ONORC plan in August 2019, a total of about 56 Crore portability transactions have been recorded in the States/UTs under ONORC up to 31st January 2022.

As part of the Concurrent Evaluation of the implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) and Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) operations through Monitoring Institutes (MIs), which are esteemed universities and institutions of national repute, the Department has conducted assessments of the implementation of the ONORC plan in States/UTs in a phased manner. Also, from the large volume of portability transactions under ONORC, it is evident that the beneficiaries are leveraging the facility of ration portability to access their NFSA as well as PM-GKAY foodgrains from any FPS of their choice, without being dependent on the tagged ration shop in the ration card. Such a flexibility was not available earlier under the traditional TPDS operations when beneficiaries had to lose their food security benefits in the event of migration or being away from their village/town or designated FPS.

2-Feb-2022: Chhattisgarh becomes 35th State/UT to implement One Nation One Ration Card

Recently Department of Food & Public Distribution had reviewed the progress of States/UTs towards the implementation of “One Nation One Ration Card” (ONORC) plan and after successful testing of portability transactions, the Department has approved the integration of Chhattisgarh with the existing cluster of portability States/UTs under ONORC. Accordingly, the ONORC plan for nation-wide portability of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) ration cards has been enabled in the Chhattisgarh State from 2nd February 2022.

With the integration of Chhattisgarh, the ONORC plan is now operational in 35 States/UTs covering almost 96.8% NFSA population (about 77 Crore NFSA beneficiaries) in the country. The migrant NFSA beneficiaries of Chhattisgarh State will also now be able to take the benefit of subsidised foodgrains at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.

ONORC is a technology driven distribution system which makes food security portable across the country and is very beneficial for migratory NFSA beneficiaries, who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of temporary employments, etc. This provides them with an option to lift their entitled quota of foodgrains from any FPS of their choice, anywhere in the country, by using their same/existing ration card. It is also noteworthy that the families of the migratory beneficiaries back home, can also avail the balance ration without any difficulty.

Since inception of the ONORC plan in August 2019, so far more than 56 Crore portability transactions have been recorded in the States/UTs under ONORC, delivering nearly total 100 LMT foodgrains through both inter-State and intra-State portability transactions equivalent to about Rs. 31,000 Crore in food subsidy. As a key indicator, presently a monthly average of about 2.5 Crore portability transactions (including inter-State, intra-State and PM-GKAY foodgrains transactions) are being recorded in the States/UTs under ONORC. From the high volume of about 49 Crore portability transactions done by the beneficiaries during the COVID-19 period (from April 2020 till so far), it is evident that the flexibility of choosing any FPS (ration shop) under ONORC has proved to be a tremendous source of food security for many migrant beneficiaries/families, as they are now able to lift their entitled ration under NFSA and PMGKAY seamlessly.

11-Mar-2021: 17 States implement One Nation One Ration Card system

Seventeen (17) States have successfully operationalised “One Nation One Ration Card system” with Uttarakhand being the latest State to complete the reform.

States completing One Nation One Ration Card system reform are eligible for additional borrowing of 0.25 percent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Accordingly, these States have been granted additional borrowing permission of Rs. 37,600 crore by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

One Nation One Ration Card System is an important citizen centric reform. Its implementation ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.

The reform especially empowers the migratory population mostly labourers, daily wagers, urban poor like rag pickers, street dwellers, temporary workers in organised and unorganised sectors, domestic workers etc., who frequently change their place of dwelling to be self-reliant in food security. This technology driven reform enables the migrant beneficiaries to get their entitled quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS) enabled fair Price Shops of their choice anywhere in the country.

The reform also enables the States in better targeting of beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/ duplicate/ineligible card holders resulting in enhanced welfare and reduced leakage. Further, 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 Fair Price Shops (FPSs) with installation of electronic point of sale (e-PoS) devices are essential. Therefore, additional borrowing limit of 0.25 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is allowed to the States only on completion of both of the following actions:

1. Aadhar Seeding of all the ration cards and beneficiaries in the State
2. Automation of all the FPSs in the State.

In view of the resource requirement to meet multiple challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India had on 17th May, 2020 enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation i.e. 1 percent of GSDP was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the States. The four citizen centric areas for reforms identified by the Department of Expenditure were (a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (b) Ease of doing business reform, (c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms and (d) Power Sector reforms.

9-Feb-2021: Rajasthan becomes the 12th State to complete One Nation One Ration Card system reform

Rajasthan has become the 12th State in the country to successfully undertake “One Nation One Ration Card system” reform stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. Thus, the State has become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs. 2,731 crore through Open Market Borrowings. Permission for the same was issued by the Department of Expenditure.

Rajasthan has now joined 11 other States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh, who have completed this reform. On completion of One Nation One Ration Card system reform, these 12 States have been granted additional borrowing permission of Rs.33,440 crore by the Department of Expenditure.

One Nation One Ration Card System is an important citizen centric reform. Its implementation ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.

The reform especially empowers the migratory population mostly labourers, daily wagers, urban poor like rag picker, street dwellers, temporary workers in organised and unorganised sectors, domestic workers etc., who frequently change their place of dwelling to be self-reliant in food security. This technology driven reform enables the migrant beneficiaries to get their entitled quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS) enabled fair Price Shops of their choice anywhere in the country.

The reform also enables the States in better targeting of beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/ duplicate/ineligible card holders resulting in enhanced welfare and reduced leakage. Further, 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 Fair Price Shops (FPSs) with installation of electronic point of sale (e-PoS) devices are essential. Therefore, additional borrowing limit of 0.25 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is allowed to the States only on completion of both of the following actions:

1. Aadhar Seeding of all the ration cards and beneficiaries in the State
2. Automation of all the FPSs in the State.

In view of the resource requirement to meet multiple challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India had on 17th May, 2020 enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation i.e. 1 percent of GSDP was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the States. The four citizen centric areas for reforms identified by the Department of Expenditure were (a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (b) Ease of doing business reform, (c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms and (d) Power Sector reforms.          

Till now, 17 States have carried out at least one of the four stipulated reforms and have been granted reform linked borrowing permissions. Out of these, 12 States have implemented the one nation one ration card system, 12 States have done ease of doing business reforms, 5 States have done local body reforms and 2 States have undertaken power sector reforms. Total reform linked additional borrowing permission issued so far to the States stands at Rs.­­­ 74,773 crore.

2-Feb-2021: Implementation of ONORC scheme

The Department in association with State/UT Governments is implementing ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) plan for nation-wide portability of ration cards under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA). So far, the facility has been enabled in 32 States/UTs covering nearly 69 Crore beneficiaries, almost 86% of NFSA population of the country.

Under ONORC, the beneficiaries, if desire, can lift their entitled foodgrains from any ePoS (electronic Point of Sale device) enabled Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice by using their same/existing ration cards with biometric authentication on the ePoS device at the time of lifting the foodgrains through portability. No direction has been given to States/UTs for issuance of new ration cards to beneficiaries under ONORC. However, for the sake of uniformity under ONORC operations, States/UTs have been advised to adopt a standard bi-lingual format for ration cards whenever they decide to issue/print new ration cards under NFSA in the future.

The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) under NFSA is operated under the joint responsibilities of the Central and State/UT Governments. Under the joint responsibility, the State/UT Governments are responsible for identification of eligible beneficiaries under NFSA, issuance of ration cards to them, lifting of foodgrains from the designated depots, distribution to ration card holders as per their entitlements through FPSs, etc. Thus, identification of eligible beneficiaries and issuance of ration cards to them for distribution of foodgrains under NFSA lies with the concerned State/UT Government. Presently, out of the total given coverage of 81.35 Crore persons under NFSA, around 80 Crore beneficiaries are receiving their entitled quota of foodgrains through TPDS on monthly basis.

Further, directions under Section-38 of the NFSA have been issued to all States/UTs to cover all eligible disabled persons under the NFSA. Besides, all States/UTs have also been advised to identify needy persons from the weaker sections of the society including disabled persons through time-to-time special drives, camps, etc. and issue NFSA ration cards to all eligible persons/households up to the defined coverage of persons under NFSA for their State/UT.

1-Aug-2020: Four more States/UTs linked with One Nation One Ration Card scheme

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has reviewed the progress of One Nation One Ration Card plan. While taking note of the requisite technical readiness of 4 more States/UT of Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland and Uttarakhand, the Department of Food & Public Distribution has enabled the integration of these 4 States/UT with existing 20 States/UTs for the National Portability. With this, now a total of 24 States/UTs are connected under One Nation One Ration Card from today w.e.f. 1st August 2020.

These 24 States/UTs are namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. With this, about 65 crores (80%) of total NFSA population is now potentially enabled for receiving food grains anywhere in these States/UTs through national portability of ration cards. Remaining States/UTs are targeted to be integrated in national portability by March 2021.

The One Nation One Ration Card is an ambitious plan and endeavour of DoFPD, to ensure the delivery of food security entitlements to all beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), irrespective of their physical location anywhere in the country, by implementing nation-wide portability of ration cards under the ongoing central sector scheme on ‘Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)’ in association with all States/UTs.

Through this system, the migratory NFSA beneficiaries who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of temporary employments, etc. are now enabled with an option to lift their entitled quota of food grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice anywhere in the country by using their same/existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar based authentication on an electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device installed at the FPSs.

1-Jun-2020: Three more States included in One Nation One Card scheme

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan today announced the inclusion of three more states namely - Odisha, Sikkim and Mizoram in the scheme on ‘Integrated Management of Public Distribution System’ (IM-PDS).Under this system nation-wide portability of the benefits under NFSA through “One Nation One Ration Card” plan is implemented to enable the NFSA ration card holders to lift their entitled quota of subsidised foodgrains from any ePoS enabled FPS of their choice anywhere in the country, by using the existing/same ration card after Aadhaar authentication on ePoS device.

The facility so far is enabled in 17 States/UTs, namely – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. Further, constant efforts are being made by this Department of Food & Public Distribution to expand the reach of national portability to the beneficiaries of other States/UTs also in association with respective State/UT Governments. In this endeavour, necessary preparatory activities to integrate these three new States with the national cluster viz. upgradation of ePoS software, integration with central IM-PDS and Annavitran portals, availability of ration cards/beneficiaries data in Central Repository, requisite testing of national portability transactions has also been completed with the support of central NIC team. After completing all these arrangements, the national/ inter-State portability transactions under ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ plan has been enabled in these States w.e.f distribution month of June 2020. By August 2020 three more States namely - Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Manipur will also be added to the national cluster. Department is doing all necessary arrangements to include remaining all 13 States namely - West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Delhi, J&K, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep island to the national cluster. It is confirmed that by 31st March 2021 all States will be added to One Nation One Ration Card scheme and the scheme will be operational all over India.

Shri Paswan highlighted that central technical team has imparted the requisite orientation trainings to the technical team and concerned officers of these States/UTs through Video Conferencing and necessary guidelines/ instructions for the implementation of national/inter-State portability were also provided to them. It is reiterated that those NFSA ration cards which have recorded at least one Aadhaar authenticated transaction during the last 6-months shall be eligible for the national portability transactions under this plan. This feature has been enabled through the central repository of ration cards/beneficiaries maintained by NIC. Further, it is mentioned that requisite web-services for reporting of portability transaction details to central dashboard are also enabled for these States with immediate effect and the central NIC team shall be continuously assisting the State Governments in seamless rollout of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ plan.

Shri Paswan requested all these States to commence the national/ inter-State portability transactions in June 2020. This would also enable the beneficiaries of these States anywhere in the national cluster of States/UTs to access their quota of foodgrains through national portability with immediate effect. In this regard, efforts/activities to generate necessary awareness among the NFSA beneficiaries and FPS dealers may also be undertaken on priority.

1-May-2020: Five more States/UTs board ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ national portability platform, taking the total to 17

The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan approved the integration of 5 States and Union Territories, - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu - with the National Cluster under the “One Nation One Ration Card” plan. Twelve States are already onboard the National Cluster, namely - Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura. Reviewing the progress of the implementation of National Portability of ration card holders under the “One Nation One Ration Card” plan, Shri Paswan took note of the requisite technical readiness of these 5 new States/UT with the National Cluster.

With this, the facility of national/inter-State portability will be available for nearly 60 Crore NFSA beneficiaries of 17 States/UT and they may lift their entitled quota of foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice, anywhere in these 17 States/UT by using their same/existing ration card under ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ plan.

The Department has shared the necessary guidelines/instructions for the implementation of national portability as also imparted the requisite orientation trainings to the officers/technical teams of these 5 States/UTs. Further, while informing the 5 new States that required web-services for inter-State transactions and their monitoring through central dashboards have been activated with immediate effect, all 17 States/UTs concerned have been requested to formally commence seamless inter-State/national portability operations in a single cluster w.e.f. today, or at the earliest, depending upon their on-field readiness.

Further, constant efforts are also being made to expand the reach of national portability under One Nation One Ration Card plan, to the beneficiaries of other States/UTs as per the readiness of respective State/UT Governments.

20-Mar-2020: Implementation of 'One Nation, One Ration Card' Scheme

Under PDS reforms, a scheme on "Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)" is being implemented w.e.f. April 2018 in all States/UTs. The main objective of the scheme is to introduce nation-wide portability of ration card holders under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), through ‘One Nation One Ration Card' system. This system enables the migratory ration card holders to lift their entitled food grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice in the country by using their existing/same ration card issued in their home States/ UTs after biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs. So far, the facility of inter-State/national portability under One Nation One Ration Card plan has been made functional in 12 States. Further, integration of remaining States/ UTs depends on their readiness to implement the same.

The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is governed under the provisions of the National Food security Act, 2013 (NFSA); which is implemented in all States/ UTs. The NFSA provides coverage for about 81 crore persons to receive subsidised foodgrains through TPDS, which is about 2/3'd of the country's population as per census 2011. Presently, under NFSA, all States/ UTs collectively, have issued about a total of23 crore ration cards to nearly 80 crore beneficiaries.

Further, TPDS is operated in joint responsibilities of central States/UT Governments where in inter-alia the operational responsibilities of identification of eligible households/ beneficiaries under NFSA as per the criteria evolved by them, issuance of ration cards, etc.' rests with the concerned State/UTs Governments. Therefore as and when any matter/issues, including request for new ration card is received in this Department, the same is forwarded to concerned States/UTs Government for appropriate action at their end.

4-Sep-2019: Four more States join ration card portability

Ration card holders in Kerala and Karnataka, as well as in Rajasthan and Haryana, will be able to buy subsidised food from ration shops in the neighbouring State from next month.

With effect from October 1, these two new clusters will join the existing State pairs of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as well as Maharashtra and Gujarat as pioneers in inter-State portability of ration cards.

By January 1, 2020, the Centre hopes the eight States in these initial experimental clusters, as well as Jharkhand, Punjab and Tripura, can be clubbed into a single grid. This means that migrants from these 11 States can access their rations guaranteed under the National Food Security Act in any of the other State within the grid.

These 11 States have already achieved the first step of implementing intra-State portability, where NFSA beneficiaries can use their ration cards in any ration shop within their own State, not just the shop where the card is registered. By March 2020, intra-State portability will be implemented in another 13 States and Union Territories: Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

These are mostly States where almost all ration shops have electronic point of sale machines. However, 10 States are lagging behind badly. There is only 70% coverage of ePOS in West Bengal, 33% in Uttarakhand and 15% in Bihar. In the north-east, in Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam, [as well as in Delhi], there is no coverage at all.

Apart from ePOS coverage, Aadhaar authentication and online supply depot management are also critical for the implementation of the system. The measures were being taken to prevent misuse of the portability system. Partial lifting of rations will be allowed, where a maximum of 50% of the ration can be picked up at one time. This would help prevent one member of a household lifting the entire ration at one location, depriving other members of the family who use the same ration card in a different location.

1-Aug-2019: One Nation-One Ration Card scheme implemented on pilot basis in four States

In a major boost to national food security, government launched the One Nation-One Ration Card scheme on a pilot basis in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat from today.

Families who have food security cards can buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in these states. Their ration cards should be linked with Aadhar Number to avail this service.

The white Ration Card holders in Telangana have been getting the portability facility, enabling them to buy their subsidized rice and other food grains from any Fair Price Shop in the state.

The same facility can be utilized anywhere in Andhra Pradesh now through PoS machines under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme which has come into force in the two states.

The Centre is intended to extend the programme to all states by August next year so that the portability of the food security card implemented.

The Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation conducted a trial run of the project last week with consumers from Andhra Pradesh drawing their commodities from the fair price shop in Hyderabad. According to officials, 2.82 crore consumers had benefited with the ration portability introduced in the Telangana last year. More than 56 lakh beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act in the state will be benefited from the facility. The same will be the case with consumers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat which are identified for implementation of the pilot project.

29-Jun-2019: Government all set to implement "One nation-one ration card" scheme throughout India by 30th June, 2020

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan  asserted that the Government is going to implement "One nation-one ration card" scheme in the whole country by 30th June, 2020. Work on linking all the ration cards all over the country with Aadhar cards and organizing food grain distribution mechanism in its entirety through Point of Sale (PoS) machine is in the final stage.

Currently Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura are 10 states where 100% POS machines have been arranged for grain distribution and all PDS shops have been connected to the Internet. Now, in these states any beneficiary can take grain from any public distribution system shop in that state. Shri Paswan stated that arrangements are being made to ensure that by August 15, 2019, beneficiaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Gujarat and Maharashtra will be able to take ration from anywhere in both states.

Work is being done on war footing to ensure “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme is implemented across the nation and for that data of all ration cards will be connected to one server and any beneficiary, anywhere in the country, will be able to pick up their grain from any public distribution system of their choice after 30th June, 2020.

Shri Paswan issued instructions to State government officials to ensure that special arrangements were made for distribution of ration to the migrant population within the next two months in some of the major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other major cities in Maharashtra where the proportion of migrant population is high.

The Minister said work is in the final stage for integrating the entire public distribution system with the Depots online system (DOS) to ensure seamless working of the National Food Security Act and bringing further transparency in the storage and distribution process of food grains. FCI will provide an internet gateway for integrating DOS with State governments within 4 months. After that, within 2 months, States will integrate their Warehouse Management Systems with DOS. The Union Minister issued instructions to the officials of Department of Food and PD to continuously review the progress made in this regard.

The work done by the department of Food and Public Distribution is very important and it is almost a life line for the beneficiaries wherein 612 lakh ton of food grains stored in warehouses of FCI, CWC, SWCs and private godowns are distributed among 81 crore beneficiaries annually. Focus is on use of Information Technology right from the time of procurement of food grains till its distribution which will help in increasing the overall efficiency of the entire process, while maintaining transparency and curbing corruption.

FCI has implemented the Depot Online System (DOS) in all its 563 warehouses and CWC has implemented it in 144 depots. Apart from this, procurement of food grains by the FCI has also been made online while purchase, storage and distribution system of most States has been made online in some form or the other.

It is imperative that there is a seamless flow of information online between FCI and States and therefore they need to be integrated so that exact information on procurement and distribution across the nation is available. There should be a system for storage of all such qualitative and quantitative information which can then be accessed through the ‘annavitran’ portal and the specially designed dashboard which the minister personally monitors in the morning meetings with senior officials of the Ministry.

Another key announcement was regarding a solution to the problem of malnutrition. The Food & PD department will be implementing a new Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme for “Fortification of Rice and its Distribution under Public Distribution System” which was given administrative approval on 14-Feb-2019.  The Pilot Scheme has been approved with a total budget outlay of Rs.147.61 crores for a period of 3 years beginning 2019-20.  The Pilot Scheme would be funded by Government of India in the ratio of 90:10 in respect of North Eastern, Hilly and Island States and 75:25 in respect of the rest of the States.

The Pilot Scheme will focus on 15 Districts (one District per State).At present, 9 states have agreed to start the scheme and have identified the districts. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Assam. The remaining states have been requested to select the districts and work on implementation of this system by selecting Agency-Mills for rice fortification. It has been kept in the government's 100 days agenda. The Ministry of Women and Child Development and Human Resource Development have already been providing rice fortified with nutritious elements in Anganwadi centers and Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

7-Dec-2022: Security of Kashmiri Pandits in Valley

The Government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir. There has been substantial decline in terrorist attacks from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021. 14 persons belonging to minorities including 3 Kashmiri   Pandits   have  been  killed  in   Union  Territory  of  Jammu  and Kashmir since January, 2022 till 30th November, 2022. There were certain media reports of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti highlighting their security concerns. Various measures have been taken by the Government to protect the lives of minorities which include: -

1. Group security in the form of static guards;
2. Day and night area domination;
3. Round the clock Nakas at strategic points;
4. Patrolling and speculative Cordon and Search Operations (CASOs);
5. Security arrangements through appropriate deployment. Inter-alia a robust security and intelligence grid is in place in Jammu and Kashmir to thwart any attempt at the hands of the terrorists.

26-Jul-2022: Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir

As per information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, no Kashmiri Pandit working under the Prime Minister’s Development Package has resigned recently in protest of the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir Valley.

The Government has taken several measures to ensure safety of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.  These include a robust security and intelligence grid, day & night area domination, proactive operations against terrorists, round the clock checking at Nakas, patrolling in the areas where the Kashmiri Pandits reside, deployment of Security Forces at strategic points to thwart any terrorist attack.

Under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP), 5502 Kashmiri Migrants have been provided Government jobs. Government has also approved construction of 6000 transit accommodations for Kashmiri Migrant employees engaged/to be engaged in different departments of Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir in the valley.  Further, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has launched a portal on 7.9.2021 to address the grievances of Kashmiri Migrants.

17-Mar-2021: Return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir Valley

As per the report of Relief Office setup in 1990 by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 44,167 Kashmiri Migrant families are registered who had to move from the valley since 1990 due to security concerns.  Out of these, the count of registered Hindu Migrant families is 39,782.

Special Jobs for the Kashmiri migrant youth under the PM package has been an important  component  for  the  rehabilitation   of   Kashmiri migrants. A total of nearly 3800 migrant candidates have returned to Kashmir in the last few years to take up the PM package jobs. Post abrogation of Article 370, as many as 520 migrant candidates have returned to Kashmir for taking up the jobs that have been provided to them under the rehabilitation package. Another nearly 2,000 migrant candidates are also likely to return under the same policy in the year 2021 on successful completion of the Selection process.

The Government has devised policies for Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants, under the Prime Minister’s Packages in 2008 and 2015 for Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants to Kashmir Valley.

Various components of these policies are given as below: -

1. Housing: In order to encourage the rehabilitation of Kashmir Migrants back at their ancestral places in Kashmir Valley, the government announced the following incentives in order to help those families which were desirous of settling back at their original places or residence.
   1. Assistance @Rs. 7.5 Lacs for repairing their fully or partially damaged house.
   2. Rs. 2 Lakh for dilapidated/unused houses.
   3. Rs. 7.5 Lakh for purchase/construction of a house in group housing societies for those who have sold their properties during the period after 1989 and before the enactment of JK Migrant Immovable Property Preservation, Protection and Restraint of Distress Sale 1997.
2. Enhancement in cash assistance: Cash relief has also being provided to Kashmiri Migrants, which has been increased from time to time i.e. Rs. 500 per family in 1990 is raised to Rs. 13,000 per family @Rs. 3250 per person.
3. Employment: Out of a total of 6,000 posts announced under PM Packages, nearly 3,800 Kashmiri Migrants have been rehabilitated directly by way of providing government employment. These employees are working in various districts of Kashmir Valley, which include Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam, Kupwara, Pulwama, Bandipora, Anantnag and Ganderbal. Remaining posts are also at final stages of recruitment.
4. Construction of Transit Accommodation- In order to provide accommodation to the 6,000 Kashmiri Migrants who are getting employed in the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in the valley, 6,000 Transit Accommodation units are being constructed for Kashmiri Migrants Employees in various districts of Kashmir Valley at an estimated cost of Rs.920 Cr. So far, 1,025 dwelling units have already been constructed which include 721 dwelling units in the district of Budgam, Kulgam, Kupwara, Anantnag and Pulwama. Another 1,488 units are under construction and land has been identified for about 2444 units.