Odisha To Implement ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ Policy from Sept 1

Pic Courtesy: Jagran.com

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday said that it will implement the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ policy of the Centre to enable the poor and migrant workers to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country, so long as their ration cards are linked to Aadhaar.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said any beneficiaries can avail the PDS (public distribution system) ration from any ration shop across the state under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

“This policy will be implemented in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits from September 1. It will be later extended to all civic bodies in the state,” the minister added.

This novel scheme will allow portability of food security benefits across the country from July 1, 2020.

The Centre has given one more year to all the states to use the point of sale (PoS) machines in the ration shops and implement the scheme. As of now, 77% of the ration shops across the country have PoS machines and more than 85% of people covered under the NFSA have their cards linked to Aadhaar.