Ram Vilas Paswan and Narendra Modi (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)In a major development amid the COVID-19 pandemic, four more States and a Union Territory (UT) have joined the 'One Nation One Ration Card' regime, reports Livemint.
States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, and the UT of Daman & Diu are the latest to have integrated into the regime whereby eligible beneficiaries would be able to avail their entitled food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any fair-price shop across the nation.
As of January this year, a total of 12 States had been integrated into the new regime. Now the figure stands at 16 States and a UT. As an outcome of the development, about 60 crore individuals from these States and UTs which have joined the new regime are expected to benefit.
The development was made public by Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Also, it should be noted that the programme had been launched by Paswan in June last year.
The other States which have adopted the new regime already are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand and Tripura.
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