The Union Ministry in May this year announced the national rollout of a ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system in all states and Union Territories by March 2021. As of now, about 20 states have come on board to implement the inter-state ration card portability. The Jharkhand government too has taken the initiative of this ambitious national scheme under which the Department of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs has decided to link all ration cards with Aadhar.

The Department has set the target of linking all ration cards with Aadhar by August 15. The department has issued a directive under which respective Public Distribution System (PDS) dealers have been asked to link ration cards with Aadhar. The ration card beneficiaries have to link their ration card with Aadhar at PDS dealer outlets.

Department secretary Arun Singh said, “In Jharkhand there are 2.63 crore ration card holders out of which 2.18 ration cards are linked with Aadhar. The drive is to link left over ration cards with Aadhar. Once all the ration cards are linked with Aadhar the next step will be to rollout one nation one ration card  scheme.”

Singh claimed that with one nation one ration card scheme the biggest beneficiaries will be consumers as they will be able to procure their quota of ration from any part of Country.

The system will enable migrant workers and their family members to access PDS benefits from any Fair Price Shop in the country.

Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, about 81 crore persons are entitled to buy subsidized foodgrain — rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg, and coarse grains at Re 1/kg — from their designated Fair Price Shops (FPS) of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

In the present system, a ration cardholder can buy foodgrains only from an FPS that has been assigned to her in the locality in which she lives. However, this will change once the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system becomes operational nationally.

Singh said that with the one nation one ration card scheme a PDS beneficiary living in any remote village at Santhal Pargana can get his quota of ration from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra too. 

The new system, based on a technological solution, will identify a beneficiary through biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs, and enable that person to purchase the quantity of foodgrains to which she is entitled under the NFSA.

The other advantage of one nation one ration card is that it will cut the issue of duplication of ration cards and black marketing involved in PDS supply. As there will be details on the number of beneficiaries and grains supplied PDS dealers involved in black marketing will have little scope.