new Delhi: Consumer, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal made it clear in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that to take advantage of the One Nation One Ration Card scheme, the beneficiaries do not need to carry the ration card with them in physical form and they need to keep their ration card anywhere in the country. You have to enter your ration card number or Aadhaar number at the fair rate shop of your choice.
This was stated by Union Minister Piyush Goyal in response to supplementary questions raised by Nagar, Hema Malini, Mahua Moitra and Farooq Abdullah. Goyal said that the system is being improved by using technology and under this one nation, one ration card scheme has been started. He said, “At present one nation, one ration card scheme has been implemented in 35 states/UTs of the country covering about 77 crore beneficiaries (about 96.8 per cent). The Union Minister said that anywhere in the country, enter your ration card number or Aadhaar number at the fair price shop of your choice and pick up your ration.
He said that if someone does not want to lift the entire ration at once, then he can take the ration in turn. He said that no new card is required after the technology is integrated with this system. The Consumer, Food and Public Distribution Minister said that under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme, no instructions have been given to the State or Union Territory Administrations regarding issuance of new ration cards to the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act.
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He said that however as reforms under TPDS, as and when the States/UTs take any decision regarding issuance of new ration cards to the beneficiaries of National Food Security Act with the objective of bringing about uniformity across India. Then they have been suggested to adopt the standard format of ration cards. The Minister said that the technology-based “One Nation, One Ration Card Scheme” would empower all the beneficiaries of National Food Security Act in the country to facilitate the nationwide smooth utility of the ration card scheme, so that they can get any suitable facility of their choice at any place in the country. To be able to pick up food grains according to their eligibility at the rate shop.
Goel said, “To avail the benefit of One Nation One Ration Card scheme, the beneficiaries need not actually carry the ration card with them and they can get their ration card anywhere in the country at the fair price shop of their choice. Number or Aadhaar number has to be entered. During the Question Hour, BJP’s Hema Malini asked that in view of the complaints of irregularities at fair price shops, is the government contemplating to implement Direct Cash Transfer (DBT) for the food grains scheme? On this, Piyush Goyal said that this has been discussed many times and there are two aspects to it.
One of the ideas in this is that the money goes directly into the account of the beneficiaries and this will also save the government’s cost of delivering food grains. The second thought came that if the money did not reach the housewife and was spent by someone else, then its purpose would not be served. Goyal said, “In such a situation it has been decided that this scheme should be run in its present form. He said that we have made arrangements for its ground level audit. Regarding the scheme in West Bengal, the minister said that the state was not involved in this scheme for a long time and later joined it. (agency)