One Nation, One Ration Card

What is the present position about the Public Distribution System(PDS)?

Presently, the government supplies 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains to each person per month to over 81 crore people via 5,00,000 ration shops in the country, costing the exchequer about ₹1.4 lakh crore annually.

Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at a highly subsidised rate of ₹3/kg for rice, ₹2/kg for wheat and ₹1/kg for coarse grains via Public Distribution System(PDS) as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013.

By when will `One Nation One Ration Card’ come into force?

The Government of India will implement ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ from June 1, 2020.

By January 2020, 11 states will form a public distribution grid. 

The central scheme will integrate all state public distribution systems to a central repository of beneficiaries’ details.

How far have we come towards the goal?

Already, Inter-state portability of ration card between Telangana-Andhra Pradesh as well as Maharashtra-Gujarat has begun.

This means beneficiaries living in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh can buy their quota of ration from the Public Distribution System (PDS) (consisting of fair price shops/ration shops) in either of the states. Similar would be the case in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Thus, GOI started inter-state portability of ration card pairing two states each.

In these four states, both intra-state and inter-state portability of ration card is being implemented successfully.

What about intra-state portability?

Intra- state portability means beneficiaries can lift their quota of ration from any PDS located within a state.

Seven more states -- Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tripura -- at present (October 2019) are testing intra-portability of ration card. 

What is IMPDS?

In order to achieve this target, the food ministry will create a central depository of all ration cards which will help in eliminating duplication. Centre will set up a real-time online database of ration cards—Integrated Management of PDS (IMPDS). IMPDS is already operational in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura wherein a beneficiary can avail his share of foodgrain from any district in the state. 

What benefits are likely to accrue from the portability?

• Migrant labourers will be the biggest beneficiary of this. Migrant workers are presently denied subsidised food. About 4.1 crore workers migrate out of their states seasonally for work (2011 census).
• Women shifting to different places and states post-marriage also will benefit.
• Presently, we hear cases of people holding multiple ration cards. If there is one common card that is valid across the country, such misuse can be prevented and corruption will be minimised.
• allowing ration card portability will improve access and service quality by removing monopolies 

What are the prerequisites for success?

• Creation of a central repository of NFSA beneficiaries and ration cards, which will integrate the existing databases of States and Union Territories 
• Aadhaar seeding for de-duplication. Currently, it is estimated that around 85% of ration cards are linked to Aadhaar numbers.
• All fair price shops should be equipped with electronic point-of-sale machines (ePoS) with a digital real-time record. 
• On the back-end, the FCI’s Depot Online System is integrating all warehouses and godowns storing subsidised grain in an attempt to create a seamless flow of online information from procurement until distribution. 

What are the challenges?

• The challenge is to update beneficiary data when a person migrates for a shorter span. Electronic point-of-sale machines are there in 77 per cent ration shops. But very few of them are in high-migration states like West Bengal and Bihar.
• Different states offer different amounts in addition to the national norm of 5 kg. Tamil Nadu, for example, offers 20 kg of free rice per month to almost 2 crore ration card holders, as well as subsidised sugar, pulses and oil, over and above the NFSA benefits. The State government is apprehensive that it may not be able to offer these benefits to migrant workers, as the Centre will cover the costs of NFSA benefits only.
• If the members of a single household are divided between two different locations. The scheme’s guidelines only permit purchase of half the subsidised grain at one time in an effort to prevent one member of the household taking the entire ration for the month, leaving family members in a different location stranded without food. But this flexibility is confined to only one location. 

How will Food Corporation of India (FCI) cope up?

Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns have enough capacity and have been asked to stock three months of ration in advance. The FCI godowns have been made online and the states have been directed to make their depots online at the earliest to track the movement of foodgrains. It needs to be more dynamic as requirements change from time to time and location to location. 

Who issues ration cards?

Ration cards are usually issued by states, under the National Food Security Act. Each household’s ration card is linked to a specific fair price shop without any flexibility. 

Where does one find PDS in the Seventh Schedule?

In the Concurrent List (List 3) as social security and food supply. 

Why the opposition to the scheme?

• Critics say that if ration goods are distributed to people from other States, 
• It will affect the share of the local people; 
• Will add to the financial burden; 
• Preparation is difficult.