‘One Nation, One Ration Card’, a flagship scheme of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, will be implemented from July 2020 according to senior officials, reports The Hindu.

“We have written to all State governments to fast track its implementation, so that the whole country is ready to implement ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ latest by 30 June 2020,” Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told journalists on Saturday.

With their Aadhaar cards linked to the ration cards, the poor migrant workers will be able to access subsidised grains from a ration shop anywhere in the country. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan informed that the states have been given more than a year to start using point-of-sale (PoS) machines.

Already, 77 per cent of the ration shops across the country have PoS machines and more than 85 per cent of people covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have their cards linked to Aadhaar, informed the minister.

Though the Aadhaar linkage is not necessary for accessing grains from the ration shop, it will be mandatory to avail the portability benefits. The minister also pointed out that 10 states already had portability benefits and several others already had PoS system, making the transition to a nation-wide portable system easier.

“This scheme will ensure that no poor person is deprived of subsidised grains,” he added.