(Daily News Scan - DNS English) One Nation One Ration Card Scheme
We all are aware of the one nation one ration card scheme. On May first, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has approved the integration of five states and Union Territories under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme. The scheme helps its beneficiaries to avail food grains from any PDS shops around India under the Food Security Act.
In this DNS WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE INTEGRATION OF THE NEW STATES INTO THE ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD.
The migrant labourers will now have better facility of food. This is because of the extended scope of ration card portability to cover beneficiaries. Five more states and Union Territories have been added under the one nation one ration card. These include the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar haveli and Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier there were 12 states- Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat,
Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Telangana and Tripura that were integrated under this scheme.
Now with the addition of 5 more the total integrated states have come up to be
17. Within this scheme now around 60 crore beneficiaries from 17 states and
Union territories can benefit from the ration card portability. They can also
purchase the subsidised food grains using their existing ration cards.
The one nation one ration card scheme gives each beneficiary subsidised food grains at their ease. None of the poor migrants will be deprived of food grains under the food security scheme when they shift from one place to another. This initiative will also help in removing the chance of anyone holding more than one ration card to avail benefits from different states. The ration card will also be benefitted in the way as they will not be dependent on a single PDS shop for the distribution of food grains. Thus reducing their dependence on shop owners and reducing corruption.
Constant efforts are going on to expand the reach of this scheme. This scheme has a national format created for itself. For national portability the state governments have been asked to issue ration cards in bi lingual format. One local language accompanied by Hindi or English. The states have also been asked to have a 10 digit standard ration card number. Within this ration card number the first two digits will state codes and the next two will be running ration card numbers.
Now let us know few points about NFSA National Food Security Act.
This was enacted in the year 2013. The Act legally entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under Targeted Public Distribution System. The National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013is being implemented in all the States/UTs, on an all India basis. Its mission is to ensure availability of food grains and sugar through appropriate policy instrument; including maintenance of buffer stocks of food grains. Make food grains accessible at reasonable prices, especially to the weak errand vulnerable sections of the society under PDS. Its objective is to strengthen the Targeted Public Distributions Systems.
Development/Promotion of Sugar Industry.
Development of the Warehousing Sector and Improve the Public Service System.
