One nation, one ration card from June

New Delhi, December 3

The Centre’s “one nation, one ration card” initiative will come into force across the country from June 1, 2020, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan has said.

Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries will be able to avail their entitled foodgrains under the National Food Security Act from any fair price shop (FPS) in the country using the same ration card, Paswan told the Lok Sabha today. This would be made available after biometric/Aadhaar authentication on ePoS (electronic point of sale) devices.

“This system would largely benefit the numerous migrant beneficiaries such as labourers, daily-wagers, blue-collar workers, etc. who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of employment or for other reasons across the country,” Paswan said, adding the initiative would be implemented across the country from June 1.

Besides, the government is also working on “one nation, one standard” initiative to harmonise standardisation activity. The Consumer Affairs Ministry has asked the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to develop a roadmap for implementation of the initiative. — TNS