The topmost court on Tuesday, June 29, has directed all states and union territories to implement the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme by July 31 and ‘run community kitchens to feed the migrants till the end of pandemic.’ The Supreme Court also ordered the central government to distribute dry ration among workers free of cost until the coronavirus situation eases.
The SC bench comprising of Justice Ashok Bhushan along with Justice MR Shah has issued a slew of directives to the Government of India regarding the welfare of unorganized sector workers, who were one of the groups worst hit by the second wave of coronavirus. The bench was hearing the plea of activist Anjali Bharadwaj, Harsh Mander and Jagdeep Chhokar seeking implementation of welfare measures of migrant workers including ensuring food security and cash transfers.
What is ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’
One Nation, One Ration Card programme is a national platform that digitises ration cards, beneficiary information and the monthly ration allotment under National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013. This initiative also allows withdrawals through electronic point of sale machines, which allows the mobility of ration benefits. Under NFSA 2013, India offers low-cost foodgrains to over 800 million people across the country.
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Why ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’
The launch of One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme by GoI will help migrants to sustain their livelihood in a new place. This programme will allow ration cardholders to utilise a single ration card at their leisure, making state-owned ration services more flexible.
This ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system will allow NFSA beneficiaries, especially migratory beneficiaries to claim full or partial foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country by using their existing ration card and biometric/Aadhar identification.
Meanwhile, if there are any family members back home, the system allows them to claim remaining foodgrains on the same ration card.
As per Supreme Court’s order, the Central government must develop a portal with the help of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that will contain a database for the registration of unorganised sector workers. The court added that this will speed up the process of granting welfare benefits to workers by July 31.