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Mera Ration mobile app

Govt launches a mobile app for ration card holders. (Photo: Twitter/NIC)

‘Mera Ration’ mobile app launched. Check out the features

The government has launched a mobile app for ration card holders -‘Mera Ration’. This app will benefit especially those ration card holders who move to new areas for livelihoods. The Android-based mobile application is developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). After the launch, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said the new mobile app aims to facilitate the One Nation One Ration Card scheme-related services among beneficiaries of the NFSA.

“We plan to have this mobile app in 14 languages. These languages are identified based on places where most migrant people move,” he said.

Salient features of the ‘Mera Ration’ mobile app:

1) Beneficiaries can identify and locate the nearest fair price shop.

2) Beneficiaries can easily check details of their Foodgrain entitlement, Recent transactions, Status of Aadhaar seeding.

3) Migrant beneficiaries can register their migration details through the application.

4) Option for beneficiaries to enter suggestions/feedback.

5) Application is currently available in English and Hindi.

6) More functionalities will be added in the application with time to improve its utility and extend additional services.

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One Nation One Ration Card scheme

The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme is being implemented by the Department of Food & Public Distribution for the nation-wide portability of ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). This system allows all NFSA beneficiaries, particularly migrant beneficiaries, to claim either full or part foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country through existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar authentication in a seamless manner. The system also allows their family members back home, if any, to claim the balance foodgrains on same the ration card.

The Food Secretary said that the system which was started initially in 4 States in August 2019 has been swiftly rolled out in a very short period in 32 States/UTs by December 2020 and the integration of the remaining 4 States/UT (Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal) is expected to be completed in next few months.

He informed that the one nation one ration card has proved to be a tremendous value-added service to each NFSA beneficiary during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly migrants, which allowed them to avail the benefit of subsidised foodgrains with flexibility from any location wherever they were during the lockdown/crisis period. The freedom of choosing any FPS was not available earlier