Punjab completes implementation of 'One Nation, One Ration Card' system reform
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Chandigarh, Feb 13: Punjab has become the thirteenth state in the country to successfully undertake 'One Nation One Ration Card' system reform that the Ministry of Finance's Department of Expenditure had stipulated. The State has become eligible to mobilize additional financial resources of Rs 1,516 crore through Open Market Borrowings, regarding which even the Department of Expenditure has issued permission.
Punjab has now joined twelve other states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh, who have completed this reform. The Department of Expenditure has granted additional borrowing permission of Rs 34,956 crore to the thirteen states, including Punjab, on completion of the 'One Nation One Ration Card system reform.'
The 'One Nation One Ration Card System' is an important citizen centric reform. The implementation of the system ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country. The reform especially empowers the mirgatory population mostly labourers, daily wagers, urban poor like rag picker, street dwellers, temporary workers in organized and unorganized sectors, domestic workers and similar other cases, who frequently change their place of dwelling to be self reliant in food security. The technology driven reform enables the migrant beneficiaries to get their entitled quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS) enabled fair Price Shops of their choice anywhere in the country.
The reform also enables the States in better targeting of beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/ duplicate/ineligible card holders resulting in enhanced welfare and reduced leakage. Further, to ensure seamless inter-state portability of a ration card, Aadhar seeding of all ration cards as well as biometric authentication of beneficiaries through automation of all Fair Price Shops (FPSs) with installation of electronic point of sale (e-PoS) devices are essential. Therefore, additional borrowing limit of 0.25 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is allowed to the States only on completion of two conditions; Aadhar Seeding of all the ration cards and beneficiaries in the State, and Automation of all the FPSs in the State.
The Department of Expenditure identified four citizen centric areas for reforms; Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, ease of doing business reform, Urban Local body or utility reforms, and Power Sector reforms. Among the four, around seventeen states have carried out at least one of the four stipulated reforms and have been granted reform linked borrowing permissions. Out of the seventeen, thirteen states have implemented the 'one nation one ration card system', twelve states have done ease of doing business reforms, six states have done local body reforms and two states have undertaken power sector reforms. Total reform linked additional borrowing permission issued so far to the states stands at Rs 76,512 crore.