'One Nation One Ration Card' to be effective nationwide from June

New Delhi: The government's 'One Nation One Ration Card' initiative that will largely cover migrant labourers and daily wagers will come into force across the country from June 1, 2020, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday.

Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries would be able to avail their entitled food grains under the National Food Security Act from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country using the same ration card.

This would be made available after biometric/Aadhaar authentication on ePoS (electronic Point of Sale) devices, Paswan, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, told the Lok Sabha.

The facility of inter-state portability under the 'One Nation One Ration Card' initiative would be available only through the FPSs having fully online ePoS devices.

Paswan said the initiative would be implemented across the country from June 1.

"This system would largely benefit the numerous migrant beneficiaries such as labourers, daily wagers, blue-collar workers etc. who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of employment or for other reasons across the country," he said.

Besides, the government is working on 'One Nation One Standard' initiative to harmonise standardisation activity.

The consumer affairs ministry has asked the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to develop a roadmap for implementation of the initiative.

The BIS has formulated more than 20,000 Indian standards.

"Indian standards are harmonised with international standards, wherever possible.

"BIS has granted about 998 licences to overseas firms spread across about 51 countries for various products as per Indian standards," the minister said.