For ‘one nation, one ration card’ to work, India has to fix a bunch of issues on war footing

Prabhjote GillMay 15, 2020, 12:20 IST

Anti-liqour protesting women are pouring the government provided PDS rice citing its inferior quality during the protest against TASMAC in Azhagiripuram in Trichy on April 8 amid the coronavirus lockdownBCCL

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised that the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme will reach 100% coverage by March 2021.
The use of Aadhaar cards was flagged as being a risk for central government employees.
The portability of the public distribution system (PDS) should allow families to procure essential food supplies even if families are located in different states. However, experts point out that there are several obstacles.

India’s biometric identification system, Aadhaar, is no stranger to controversy. Now, the government wants to expand its coverage to ensure 100% coverage under its food security public distribution system (PDS) portability scheme — ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the portability of the PDS system will also allow families to procure pulses and food grains even if members are located in different states.

The Narendra Modi government has promised to roll it out for 83% of the beneficiaries by August 2020 and the remaining by March 2021. However, there are some risks and gaps, which the government and Sitharaman would be aware of and policymakers may have to go on war footing to meet the set deadlines.

Fake Aadhaar cards will be a pain point

Imran, a scrap dealer, found more than 2,000 Aadhaar cards in a sack of old newspapers sold to him in Jalupura area in JaipurBCCL

India’s food security program has its own loopholes that need to be dealt with

The tribals of Thoomanur and Sembukkarai, like other villagers, used to get free rice from ration shop ever months. But they were shelling out Rs 100 to 150 each family for transporting the rice and other materials to their settlements from Anaikatty downhill.BCCL

The risk of contagion was cited for government attendance⁠ — the same should hold true for PDS use too

Ration cardholders at Rathinapuri thronged the corporation school in their locality to collect PDS tokensBCCL

Limitations of the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system

The office of district supply officer (DSO) distributing tokens to the ration card holdersBCCL

Aadhaar won’t replace ration cards — it will only complement them

A customer brings his aadhaar card outside a wine shop during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdownBCCL

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For ‘one nation, one ration card’ to work, India has to fix a bunch of issues on war footing

​Fake Aadhaar cards will be a pain point

​India’s food security program has its own loopholes that need to be dealt with

​The risk of contagion was cited for government attendance⁠ — the same should hold true for PDS use too

Limitations of the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system

​Aadhaar won’t replace ration cards — it will only complement them

Fake Aadhaar cards will be a pain point

India’s food security program has its own loopholes that need to be dealt with

The risk of contagion was cited for government attendance⁠ — the same should hold true for PDS use too

Aadhaar won’t replace ration cards — it will only complement them