'One Nation, One Ration Card' Implemented In 24 States, UTs; J&K, Manipur, Nagaland And Uttarakhand New Entries

In a boost for the Government's 'One Nation, One Ration Card' regime, four more States and Union Territories (UTs) have joined the scheme, taking the total number of States and UTs enrolled under the scheme to 24, reports Economic Times.

Yesterday (1 August), Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announced that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Manipur, Nagaland and Uttarakhand had joined the scheme. The government has set the deadline of March 2021 to get all the States and UTs under the scheme.

As of now, the coverage under the scheme has been extended to 80 per cent of the total intended beneficiaries as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The 65 crore eligible beneficiaries can now receive subsidised ration from fair price shops in any of these 24 States and UTs irrespective of whichever state they hail from.

The 24 States and UTs which are now active under the regime include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.