Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategy and policy advisory firm, in a study on ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC), a Central government scheme aimed at nationalising ration cards, has found that 92% of the households in Andhra Pradesh are aware of the portability process.
Aadhaar seeding ensures that the beneficiaries of the ONORC scheme can pick up their entitled food grains from any fair price shop across the country, which means food security of the families of migrants remains assured.
The study titled ‘Fulfilling the promise of One Nation One Ration Card‘ was conducted in five States—Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. “About 19% of the households in Andhra Pradesh had tried to avail rations under the portability scheme in the month preceding the survey,” said the study report.
The study also found that Andhra Pradesh, which launched the ONORC early, could be an example for other States in the flexible stock requisition system being implemented. "Fear of stockout among Public Distribution System (PDS) dealers was found to be a deterrent to portability of ration cards. However, Andhra Pradesh has adopted a flexible stock requisition system that offers learnings for other States to help manage procurement, allocation, storage, and distribution of rations better," said the report.
However, the study also pointed out some setbacks. “About 26% of the households that tried portability could not collect their entitlements in at least one visit,” the study pointed out.
Biometric authentication
Failure of biometric authentication was also found to be an issue. The study suggested that implementing rules by the State government for use of alternate mechanisms can allow more households to enjoy the benefits of the ONORC scheme.
