One Nation One Ration Card on parliamentary panel radar

Context

• The ambitious One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONORC) scheme of the Union government has come under the scrutiny of a parliamentary panel.

What is the concern with the scheme?

• Concerns are raised over gaps in its implementation and the efficiency of the public distribution system (PDS) network.
• There are several states that have flagged inconsistencies in the distribution system.
• The incompatibility of Aadhaar authentication and effective machines for fingerprint reading.
• Lack of installation and connection of all fair-price shops through electronic point of sale (e-POS) machines.

What is One Nation One Ration Card Scheme?

• The schemes aims to all eligible ration card holders/beneficiaries covered under NFSA to access their entitlements from anywhere in the country.
• The implementation of One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan is the responsibility of the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Government of India.

What was the problem with earlier ration cards?

• As the ration cards are issued by state governments, this implied that beneficiaries could procure food grains only from the designated ration shops within the concerned state.
• If a beneficiary were to shift to another state, he/she would need to apply for a new ration card in the second state.
• There were other complications. For instance, after marriage, a woman needed to get her name removed from the ration card issued to her parents, and get it added to the ration card issued to her husband’s family.

What does this scheme aims for?

• The ONORC scheme seeks to ensure that beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially migrant workers and their families, get ration from any fair price shop across the country that has a biometric verification system in place.
• The reforms stipulate Aadhaar seeding of ration cards, biometric authentication of beneficiaries, and automation of all fair price shops across the country.