Year’s deadline for ‘one nation, one ration card’

New Delhi, June 29

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The Centre has given states and Union Territories time till June 30, 2020, to roll out the ‘one nation, one ration card’ system, under which beneficiaries can buy subsidised foodgrains from ration shops in any part of the country.

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said already 10 states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura — are providing portability of Public Distribution System entitlements.

The new mechanism will ensure no poor is deprived of PDS entitlement if that person shifts from one place to another. The system will also help remove fake ration card holders, he added.

Paswan said 11 states, including Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, can easily implement PDS portability within their state as Point of Sale (PoS) machines have been installed in all ration shops.

Since November 2016, the government is implementing the National Food Security Act, under which foodgrains are supplied every month at subsidised rates of Rs 1-3 per kg to over 80 crore people.

Paswan said beneficiaries were required to show their Aadhaar card to buy foodgrains from any ration shop in the country. Only ration card will suffice if beneficiaries want to get their PDS entitlement only from a particular registered ration shop.

So far, Aadhaar cards of about 89 per cent of beneficiaries have been linked with the system, while 77 per cent of ration shops have installed PoS machines, the Food Minister said. — PTI

Fortified rice under PDS on pilot basis

• Fortified rice will be distributed under the PDS on a pilot basis in one district each in 15 states from October-November
• Rice grown in kharif season of 2019 will be fortified with iron, folic acid, vitamin A and B12 at the milling stage as per the standards fixed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
• Centre has also given a six-month deadline to states to automate the operations of their foodgrain depots in order to minimise storage losses