One Nation, One Ration Card
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One Nation, One Ration Card
Why in News?
The central government has given states and Union Territories June 30, 2020 deadline, to roll out the ‘one nation, one ration card’ system.
Background:
Partha Mukhopadhyay Working Group on Migration in 2017 recommended the portability of Public Distribution System benefits.
Intra-state access to the Public Distribution System (PDS) under the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IMPDS) is already in practice in a few states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, etc.
What is a Ration Card?
A Ration Card is a document issued under an order or authority of the State Government, as per the Public Distribution System, for the purchase of essential commodities from fair price shops (FPS).
State Governments issue distinctive Ration Cards to Above Poverty Line, Below Poverty Line, and Antyodaya families, and conduct periodical review and checking of Ration Cards.
Families living below the poverty line are entitled to Blue Cards, under which they can avail of special subsidies.
It helps save money by aiding in the procurement of essential commodities at a subsidized rate.
Proof of identification: It has become an important tool of identification when applying for other documents like Domicile Certificate, for the inclusion of your name in the Electoral Rolls, etc.
About the scheme:
Under the scheme, the beneficiaries can buy subsidized food grains from a ration shop in any part of the country.
Ration card Aadhar linkage is a must to access the scheme.
A person will only be eligible for the subsidies supported by the center such as those under the Nation Food security act, 2013.
Even if a beneficiary moves to a state where grains are given for free he/she will not be able to access those benefits.
A migrant will be allowed to buy a maximum of 50% of the family quota.
This is to ensure that the individual, after shifting to another place does not buy the entire family quota in one go.
The scheme will:
benefit migrant workers
remove fake ration card holders through an integrated online system
control rising food subsidy bill by removing united beneficiaries, preventing leakages, etc.
Integrated Management of Public Distribution System” (IMPDS) Scheme:
IM-PDS is a new central sector scheme, implemented under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Objectives:
Implementation of nation-wide portability in food grains distribution.
Creation of national-level data repository for deduplication of beneficiary data (Aadhaar based).
Use of advanced data analytics techniques to bring about continuous improvements.