The Centre has launched a common facility to register names in ration cards on a pilot basis for 11 States and Union Territories. Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey told reporters on Friday, that the facility will enable these States to identify and verify the eligible beneficiaries, for coverage under the National Food Security Act. Named as Ration Mitr, this software developed by the National Informatics Centre, can be used to enrol people of any State in ration cards from anywhere in the country.
He said the portal is only an enabler for States/UTs to complete their inclusion exercise under NFSA. He added that the scheme will be extended to other States by the end of August. The NFSA provides food security coverage for a maximum of 81.35 crore persons in the country. The present NFSA coverage at the national level is about 79.74 crore against the total ceiling limit of 81.35 crore.
He said around 4.7 crore ration cards of 18 or 19 crore beneficiaries, have been cancelled because of various reasons in the last few years. The 11 states and UTs are Assam, Goa, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Punjab and Uttarakhand. “The purpose is that many homeless poor don’t get ration card issued because for their livelihood, they move from one place to another,” Mr. Pandey said. “At their current place of residence, they don’t get a ration card issued because they are not residents of that place, and they have come from elsewhere. At the original place, they don’t get ration card, because they are not living there. So it is a very tricky dilemma for them,” he added.
