One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC )

On January 20, 2020, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan made the One Nation One Ration Card announcement. The project is an ambitious one for the NDA administration. 24 Indian States/Union Territories have implemented ration card mobility in their regions as of August 1, 2020.

In four states on a trial basis in 2019, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution launched the One Nation One Ration Card Scheme. By the 1st Jan 2020, 12 new states were entered into the scheme. According to information provided by the Central Government, 86% of NFSA participants migrated to the One Nation One Ration Card programme. As of June 2021, the ONOR programme was to be used to adopt by the four States/UTs namely, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and West Bengal. Through nationwide portability under the National Food Security Act, the program's objective is to enable hassle-free delivery of subsidized food grains to all migratory recipients wherever in the nation (NFSA.)

The National Food Security Act requires the Department to adopt the ONORC programme for universal mobility of ration cards (NFSA). Through this, all qualified ration card holders and NFSA beneficiaries can access their benefits from any location in the nation. The implementation of an IT-driven system, including the installation of ePoS devices at FPSs, the seeding of beneficiaries' Aadhaar numbers with their ration cards, and the operationalization of biometrically authenticated ePoS transactions in the State/UTs, enables the distribution of highly subsided food grains under this plan. Beneficiaries can provide the dealer at any Fair Price Shop location across the nation with either their ration card number or their Aadhaar number. Anyone in the household who has planted their Aadhaar information into their ration card is eligible to go through an authentication and receive their ration. To receive the benefit, you do not need to disclose your ration card or Aadhaar card with the ration dealer. Beneficiaries can submit to Aadhaar authentication using their iris scans or fingerprints.

As of August 2019, four states began using the One Nation One Ration Card service, which allows ration cards to be transferred between states. As of February 2022, the programme was in place in 35 states and the UT.

source:https://www.nic.in/infographs_post/one-nation-one-ration-card/

Benefits

1. This method enables all NFSA beneficiaries, in particular migrant beneficiaries, to claim full or partial foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the nation using an existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar identification in a seamless way.
2. The arrangement also enables, if any, their relatives back home to claim the remaining food on the same ration card.
3. In addition, ONORC will provide beneficiaries the option to select their own dealer. If there is any indication of wrongdoing, the recipient in many situations of misallocation can immediately move to another FPS store.
4. Supporting One-Third of the Population:
5. Reducing Leakages: 
6. Reducing Social Discrimination

Eligibility

1. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, One Nation One Ration Card, which offers an option to all qualified ration cards or recipients

Application Process:

Offline

1. Interested persons shall visit the nearest Fair Price Shop with Ration Card
2. Beneficiaries can quote either their ration card number or their Aadhaar number to any Fair Price Shop dealer across the country. 
3. Anyone in the family, who has seeded Aadhaar in the ration card can undergo authentication and lift the ration. There is no need to share or carry the ration card or Aadhaar card with a ration dealer to avail of the benefit. 
4. Beneficiaries can undergo Aadhaar authentication by using their fingerprints or iris-based identification.

Documents Required

1. Ration Card
2. Aadhar Card (if seeded with Ration Card)

Challenges regarding the Implementation of the ONOR

1. Exclusion Error: Leakages might be decreased after the PDS operations have been digitalized through smart cards and Aadhar linkage, but recently there have been exclusion errors following Aadhar connecting.
2. Lack of Information: Information on people relocating to other cities for employment is lacking. As a result, it is harder to identify the beneficiaries as they migrate to new places.
3. Domicile-Based Social Sector Schemes:
4. Disrupting Supplies At FPS

Conclusion

Since the Food Security Act, ONORC has significantly altered the system of public distribution. It will assist in achieving the objectives set forth in SDG 2: Ending hunger by 2030 and providing food security for migratory workers without jobs.

sources: 

1. https://www.myscheme.gov.in/schemes/onorc
2. https://tnpds.org.in/one-nation-one-ration-card/