Tamil Nadu eleventh state to implement ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ reform

Tamil Nadu has develop into the eleventh state within the nation to efficiently undertake the Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, it stated.

Thus, the state has develop into eligible to mobilise extra monetary sources of Rs 4,813 crore via open market borrowings and permission for a similar was issued by the Department of Expenditure, it added.

Other states which have efficiently accomplished the reforms are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh is the most important beneficiary with an extra borrowing window of Rs 4,851 crore, adopted by Karnataka Rs 4,509 crore and Gujarat Rs 4,352 crore.

The Department of Food and Public Distribution within the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is the nodal division to certify {that a} state has met the circumstances stipulated for this reform, the finance ministry assertion stated.

In view of the useful resource requirement to fulfill the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government had in May enhanced the borrowing restrict of the states by 2 per cent of their gross state home product (GSDP).

This has enabled the states to mobilise extra monetary sources to struggle the pandemic and preserve the requirements of service supply to the general public.

However, to make sure long-term debt sustainability and stop any opposed impression on future, part of the extra borrowing was linked to the states finishing up reforms within the sectors crucial for service supply to the residents.

One of the sectors recognized for reforms was the Public Distribution System, it stated, including, out of the extra borrowing restrict of two per cent of GSDP, 0.25 per cent is linked to implementation of the ”One Nation One Ration Card” system.

This was aimed to make sure that the beneficiaries underneath the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and different welfare schemes, particularly the migrant employees and their households, get ration from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) throughout the nation.

Other goals of the supposed reform have been to raised goal beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/duplicate/ ineligible ration playing cards and thus improve welfare and cut back leakage, it stated.

For this, the reform circumstances stipulated Aadhaar seeding of all ration playing cards, biometric authentication of beneficiaries and automation of all of the Fair Price Shops within the state.

So far, 11 states have applied the One Nation One Ration Card system, eight states have undertaken ease of doing enterprise reforms, and 4 states have executed native physique reforms.

Total extra borrowing permission issued up to now to the states who’ve executed the aforesaid reforms stands at Rs 61,339 crore, it stated.