9 states completes ‘one nation one ration card’ reform
The Government of India (GoI) has strengthen the hands of States by several measures in the light of challenges that states faced amid the COVID 19 pandemic to mobilise the financial resources.
Background
- One of the measure included ‘grant of additional borrowing’ that permitted to get additionsl 2% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in the year 2020-21. This step has enabled the States to mobilise the additional financial resources. It was also used to maintain the standards of service delivery to the public.
- The grant of additional borrowing was also linked to the states carrying out reforms in sectors that are critical for service delivery. This measure ensure long-term debt sustainability and prevent any adverse impact on future.
- The states identified the “Public Distribution System” for reforms.
Reforms in Public Distribution System
- Out of 2% additional borrowings, 0.25% was linked to implementation of “One Nation One Ration Card system”.
- It was done with an aim to ensure that the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), especially the migrant workers and their families, get ration from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) all across India.
- This measure also aims to better target the beneficiaries, to eliminate the duplicate or ineligible ration cards.
- This would also enhance the welfare measures and reduce leakage.
- To implement it, the reform conditions specifies the Aadhar Seeding for all Ration Cards, biometric authentication of beneficiaries and automation of all the Fair Price Shops (FPS) across the States.
States that has implemented the reforms
Nine States have successfully completed reforms in PDS and has implemented One Nation One Ration System so far. The nine states inlcude- Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Tripura, Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. After these states completed the reforms, additional borrowing permission of Rs.23,523 crore were granted to them.