Seventeen states implement 'One Nation One Ration Card' system: Finance Ministry

"The reform also enables the States in better targeting of beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/ duplicate/ineligible cardholders resulting in enhanced welfare and reduced leakage," the release added.

Further, to ensure seamless inter-state portability of a ration card, Aadhar seeding of all ration cards as well as biometric authentication of beneficiaries through automation of all Fair Price Shops (FPSs) with the installation of electronic point of sale (e-PoS) devices are essential.

Therefore, an additional borrowing limit of 0.25 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is allowed to the states only on completion of both of the actions, first, Aadhar Seeding of all the ration cards and beneficiaries in the State and second,  automation of all the FPSs in the State.

Moreover, in view of the resource required to meet multiple challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had on 17th May 2020 enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation i.e. 1 percent of GSDP has linked to undertaking citizen-centric reforms by the States.

The four citizen-centric areas for reforms identified by the Department of Expenditure were (a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (b) Ease of doing business reform, (c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms, and (d) Power Sector reforms.

"The reform especially empowers the migratory population mostly laborers, daily wagers, urban poor like rag pickers, street dwellers, temporary workers in organised and unorganised sectors, domestic workers, etc, who frequently change their place of dwelling to be self-reliant in food security," stated the official release adding that this technology-driven reform enables the migrant beneficiaries to get their entitled quota of food grains from any electronic point of sale (e-PoS) enabled fair Price Shops of their choice anywhere in the country.