Chhattisgarh Becomes 35th state/UT to Implement 'One Nation One Ration Card' Scheme | 04 Feb 2022

Why in News

• Recently, the Department of Food and Public Distribution has approved the inclusion of Chhattisgarh in the existing group of portability states/UTs under 'One Nation One Ration Card' (ONORC). With this, Chhattisgarh has become the 35th state/UT to implement the 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme.

Key Points

• It may be noted that the progress of the States/UTs towards the implementation of the ONORC scheme was reviewed by the Department. The department has approved the inclusion of Chhattisgarh after successful testing of portability transactions.
• Accordingly, ONORC scheme for nationwide portability of National Food Security Act (NFSA) ration cards has been implemented in Chhattisgarh from February 2, 2022.
• Under ONORC, migrant NFSA beneficiaries of Chhattisgarh will also now be able to purchase subsidized food grains at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.
• After the inclusion of Chhattisgarh, the ONORC scheme is being implemented in 35 states/UTs and is covering about 96.8 percent of the NFSA population of the country (about 77 crore NFSA beneficiaries).
• ONORC is a technology driven distribution system, which makes food security affordable across the country. This is very beneficial for migrant NFSA beneficiaries, who usually constantly change their place of residence in search of temporary employment etc. Migrant beneficiary family members, who have returned home, can purchase the rest of the ration without any difficulty.
• It provides an option to the beneficiaries to purchase their fixed quantity of food grains from any FPS of their choice anywhere in the country using their same/existing ration card.
• It may be mentioned that since the launch of the ONORC scheme in August, 2019, more than 56 crore portability transactions have been registered in the States/UTs under it. At the same time, 100 lakh metric tonnes of food grains worth Rs 31,000 crore have been distributed as food subsidy through inter-state and intra-state portability transactions.
• As a key indicator, on an average, around 2.5 crore portability transactions (including intra-state, intra-state and PM-GKAY foodgrain transactions) are being recorded per month across States/UTs under ONORC.