"Study Finds Ration Card Portability Shifts Power to Beneficiaries"
PDS (Public Distribution System)
government mechanism distributing subsidised food grain through Fair Price Shops
NFSA
law giving legal entitlement to subsidised food grain for most of India's population
India runs the world's largest food-based safety net through the Public Distribution System (PDS). It distributes subsidised grain through about 5 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS). The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 gives legal backing to this system. NFSA covers about 75% of India's rural population and 50% of its urban population. This works out to roughly 81 crore beneficiaries. Under the Act, the eldest woman of age 18 years or above is treated as the head of the household for issuing a ration card. Pregnant and lactating women are entitled to a take-home ration of 1600 calories a day for six months after childbirth.
Before 2019, a beneficiary's entitlement was tied to the address printed on her ration card. A worker who moved to another state or district for work could not draw subsidised grain at the new location. This gap became very clear during the 2020 lockdown. Migrant workers were stranded far from home without access to their quota.
To fix this, the government rolled out the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme starting in 2019. ONORC rests on two features. Portability lets a cardholder use Aadhaar (a biometric identity number) authentication to collect grain at any FPS in the country. Divisibility allows the entitlement to be split and drawn in parts from two or more locations. The scheme's designers expected the biggest gains to go to long-distance migrants. A worker could draw part of the quota at her native village and the rest at her place of work.
NFSA eligibility is not limited to BPL families alone. It covers a specified percentage of the population (75% rural, 50% urban) regardless of poverty line status. The take-home ration entitlement for pregnant and lactating women extends for six months after childbirth, not just during pregnancy.
Before ONORC, a household was locked into one assigned FPS. The dealer held monopoly power over that household. If the dealer gave short weight, poor quality grain, or poor service, the family had no alternative shop to turn to. This hurt low-bargaining-power groups the most. These groups include female-headed and lower-caste households. ONORC changes this relationship. A cardholder can now threaten to take her business to another shop. Since a dealer's commission depends on the volume of grain he disburses, losing customers directly hurts his income. …
With reference to the provisions made under the National Food Security Act, 2013, consider the following statements :
1.The families coming under the category of 'below poverty line (BPL)' only are eligible to receive subsidised food grains.
2.The eldest woman in a household, of age 18 years or above, shall be the head of the household for the purpose of issuance of a ration card.
3.Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a 'take-home ration' of 1600 calories per day during pregnancy and for six months thereafter.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the National Food Security Act, 2013, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.It guarantees subsidised foodgrains to about 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population.
2.The eldest woman of age 18 years or above is deemed the head of household for a ration card.
Select the correct answer using the code below:
Consider the following statements regarding the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme:
1.It allows a beneficiary to collect the ration quota at any Fair Price Shop in the country using Aadhaar authentication.
2.It allows the ration entitlement to be split and drawn from two or more locations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match List-I (Scheme/Law) with List-II (Year of Introduction) and select the correct answer using the code given below:
List-I:
A.Targeted PDS (TPDS)
B.Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
C.National Food Security Act (NFSA)
D.One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)
List-II:
1.1997
2.2000
3.2013
4.2019
Which of the following best explains why ration shop dealers had monopoly power over beneficiaries before the ONORC reform?
Consider the following statements about the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY):
1.It was introduced to support the poorest of the poor households under the PDS.
2.It currently covers about 2.5 crore households.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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