Bhubaneswar: The Centre’s radical concept of One Nation, One Ration Card today saw a pilot roll out in the Capital city of Odisha.
Under the Centre’s game-changer policy, a ration card holder can draw his/her monthly ration of rice, wheat and kerosene from any PDS shop anywhere in the State. This scheme makes the ration card intra and interstate portable.
Beneficiaries seem upbeat over the roll out. "Now, we will no longer have to go through the tiresome wait for long hours as hence it is not mandatory to collect ration from a designated PDS shop. It will save lots of time," said Santosh Kumar Pradhan, a beneficiary.
Another beneficiary, Basanti Beuria said, "My ration card is enrolled in the housing board ward, which is a far-off place. Now, I can avail the benefit nearby.”
It needs mentioning that the Centre has a plan to roll out its game-changer scheme from July 1, 2020. As the Scheme entails mandatory linkage of Aadhaar with the ration cards, the State Government has fixed September 15 as the deadline for linking Ration cards with Aadhaar. This is the second extension given by the State government. As per reports, Aadhaar seeding in Odisha stands at around 95 per cent.