One Nation, One Ration to help migrants in distress and cut corruption: Experts

NEW DELHI: The technology driven platform that makes it possible for ration cards to be used across India will enable everyone, including migrant workers, to draw their monthly quota of grains and pulses from anywhere in the country, experts said.
It will also reduce corruption and plug leakages by doing away with monopolistic and rent-seeking behaviour by ration shop owners. Additionally, family members will be able to avail of their quota of subsidised ration from any place at the same time, the experts pointed out.

The One Nation, One Ration Card scheme announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday will be driven by ration cards seeded with Aadhaar data of each family member.

While 670 million beneficiaries in 23 states, covering 83% of those using the Public Distribution System, will be in the net by August this year, 100% national portability will be achieved by March 2021, Sitharaman said. This will include all states and Union Territories completely automating the fair price shop (FPS) by March next year.

The idea of portable ration cards was first mooted by committee headed by Nandan Nilekani, the them chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. The committee which had presented its report nine years ago had prepared a detailed strategy for the next generation national Public Distribution System.

“It would have given, among other things, full nationwide portability of benefits (anytime, anywhere), option for food or cash etc. It could have been a hugely positive strategic platform in this crisis!” Nilekani, chairman of Infosys had said on Twitter earlier this week.

The scheme will enable true implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 through seamless nationwide portability of subsidised ration, which is one of the major issues faced by migrants, Rajesh Bansal, Senior Advisor, Carnegie India told ET.

“In its scope, this is similar to the interoperability of the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) platform, which has reduced rent seeking by business correspondents as people now have the choice to withdraw money from any micro-ATMs, similar to the way urban Indians can withdraw from any ATM in the country,” Bansal said.

However, the success of this endeavour will depend on the kind of technology platform being adopted, the governance structure, mapping of incentives and the political economy, the former deputy director at the Unique Identification Authority of India added.

Bansal said Andhra Pradesh and Telangana implemented a full-scale intra-state portability of PDS from 2013-14, empowering their citizens and reducing monopoly behaviour of ration shop owners.

“Measures such as One Nation, One Ration Card will be a big support for food security of the migrant population. This will ensure anywhere access of essential ration to migrant workers,” said Manu Gupta, cofounder of SEEDS, a grouping that helps the marginalized during distress.