The Supreme Court on Tuesday set July 31 as the deadline for states to implement the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme, which will enable migrant labourers to access subsidised food from any part of the country. 

The apex court also directed the Centre to develop a portal, in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), by July 31 for registeration of workers from the unorganised sector in order for them to avail various benefits, PTI reported.

Also Read | Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan scheme for COVID-affected sectors, announces FM

The court also directed the Centre to supply states, UTs with food grains for free distribution and run community kitchens for migrants until the pandemic situation exists.  

What is ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme?

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had introduced the scheme on a pilot basis in 2019 in four states. Its primary aim was to provide ration at subsidised rates to migrant workers and their families under the National Food and Security Act (NFSA) and other schemes. 

The Department of Expenditure had identified the scheme as one of four citizen-centric reforms. It has also allowed a borrowing of 0.25% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to states for implementation of the scheme, which comes to about Rs 37,600 crore. 

Also Read | ‘World’s happiest country’ seeks migrant

17 states have already implemented the scheme, as of March, 2021. They are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. 

It is a tech-driven system that enables daily wagers, labourers, rag-pickers, street dwellers, and temporary workers in organised and unorganised sectors to get their daily quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS)-enabled Fair Price Shops (FPS), anywhere in the country. 

Also Read | Centre says Delhi’s ration scheme lacks clarity; suggests implementation on pilot basis

The additonal borrowing of 0.25% of GSDP is only allowed after a state has completed both steps in the implementation – linking of Aadhaar and ration cards of all beneficiaries in the state and automation of all FPSs.