ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD (ONORC) SCHEME

Why in News?

Jammu, November 2, 2023 – Shri Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Government of India, addressed beneficiaries and emphasised the importance of raising awareness for  the  One  Nation,  One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative during an awareness drive workshop in Jammu & Kashmir.

What is One Nation One Ration Card Scheme?

The ONORC scheme is being implemented by the Department for the nationwide portability of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA). Through this all-eligible ration card holders/beneficiaries covered under NFSA can access their entitlements from anywhere in the country.

Benefits

This system allows all NFSA beneficiaries, particularly migrant beneficiaries, to claim either full or part foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop in the country through existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar authentication in a seamless manner. The system also allows their family members back home, if any, to claim the balance foodgrains on same the ration card.

Implementation Plan

Under this plan, the distribution of highly subsidized food grains is enabled through nation-wide portability of ration cards through IT enabled system by installation of ePoS devices at FPSs, seeding of Aadhaar  number  of beneficiaries with their ration cards and operationalisation of biometrically authenticated ePoS transactions in the State/UTs.

Beneficiaries can quote either their ration card number or the Aadhaar number to any Fair Price Shop’s dealer across the country. Anyone in the family, who have seeded Aadhaar in the ration card can undergo authentication and lift the ration. There is no need to share or carry the ration card or Aadhaar card with ration dealer to avail the benefit. Beneficiaries can undergo  Aadhaar authentication by using their finger prints or iris-based identification.

The One Nation One Ration Card facility was started as inter-State portability of ration cards in 4 States w.e.f. August 2019. As on February 2022, 35 states/UTs have implemented the scheme.