One Nation, One Ration Card: Know the Benefits & Facilities under This Scheme

'One Nation, One Ration Card' scheme will be implemented from 1st June 2020 across the country, informed Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister on Monday.

While interacting with media, the minister said "We will implement the 'One Nation, One Ration Card' yojana by 1st June in the whole country. And under this scheme a beneficiary will be able to avail benefits across the nation using the same ration card".

Earlier on 1st January 2020, Paswan told that this scheme has been started in twelve states in India on the first day of the New Year.

Under this facility, the beneficiaries of the public distribution of these states can get their share of rations in any of the twelve states wherein they are residing, as per the Union Minister for Food & Public Distribution. Last year in December, the minister had announced that the 'One Nation, One Ration card' system would be 'implemented without fail in the whole country' by 30th June, 2020.

Who are the beneficiaries?

The beneficiaries under the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system are the ration card holders who will get entitled food grains from fair price shops.

Ration card holders, who are eligible for subsidized food grains, can purchase up to 5 kilograms of rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 per kg and coarse grains at Rs 1 per kg per month, as mandated under the National Food Security Act passed in 2013.

It is important to mention that the system of distributing food grains is managed by the Centre as well as state governments. The Central government allocates & transports food grain from Food Corporation of India godowns to the ration shops. And the responsibility to give these subsidized food grains to eligible people falls on the States & Union Territories that issue the ration cards.

In the existing procedure, migrants had to apply for new ration cards at their new locations if they want to purchase subsidized food grain because the cards are linked to their residing places. But, the new system will be helpful for the huge migratory population who will be able to avail the benefits anywhere across the nation.