The “Common Registration Facility” (My Ration-My Right) was introduced on a pilot basis covering 11 States/Union Territories (UTs) by Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary of the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution (CA, F&PD) Government of India (GoI).
- The 11 states and UTs are Assam, Goa, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.
- All 36 states and UTs will be integrated into the platform by the end of August 2022.
Aim: To assist States/UTs in identifying the eligible beneficiaries and issue ration cards to such people so that they may obtain their lawful benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
- The NFSA provides comprehensive coverage for about 81.35 crore people. Currently, the Act provides highly subsidised food grains to almost 79.77 crore people. As a result, 1.58 crore new beneficiaries can be enrolled.
Significance
i. The common registration facility is an initiative to collect data from people desirous of registering for inclusion under the NFSA but reside anywhere in the country.
ii.The portal will aid in data management by providing a platform for States/UTs to assist in the inclusion of beneficiaries within the NFSA’s coverage based on the specified inclusion and exclusion criteria.
- The eligible beneficiaries include homeless people, destitutes, migrant workers and others.
Key Points:
i. The Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015 of the DFPD issued under NFSA clearly defines the State/UT-wise total number of persons covered under NFSA, including Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families.
ii.All states/UTs are regularly instructed to identify maximum eligible and excluded persons (currently not covered by NFSA) through special camps, identification drives, and other means.
- It is mandated to enroll them under NFSA coverage (AAY/PHH [Priority Households]) based on their eligibility and up to the respective ceiling limits, as well as to regularly remove ineligible beneficiaries from the coverage.
iii. Once the data is entered into the system, it will be shared with the States/UTs concerned for verification.
iv.The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) programme is now operational in all 36 States/UTs.
- Currently, 14 States/UTs have covered all eligible beneficiaries in their respective areas under the NFSA.
v.Once these migrants, homeless people, and other eligible beneficiaries get their ration cards, they will be able to use them at any ONORC-approved ration shops to obtain their food benefits.
Recent Related News:
In June 2022, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (CA, F & PD), declared that India aims to double marine product exports to Rs. 1 lakh crore in the next 5 years, up from roughly Rs. 50,000 crore at the moment.
About Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution:
Union Minister – Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ashwini Kumar Choubey; Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
