Lok Sabha Question No. 5319 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: One Nation One Ration Card
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Manoj Tiwari, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana, Dr. Hemang Joshi, Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi, Shri Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao, Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Shri Anoop Pradhan Valmiki, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan, Shri Anurag Sharma, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Alok Sharma, Shri Avimanyu Sethi, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Shri Janardan Mishra, Shri Haribhai Patel, Smt. Sanjna Jatav, Smt. Aparajita Sarangi, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Dr. Bhola Singh

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5319

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25Tll MARCH, 2026

## ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD

5319. SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

SMT. MALA RAJYA LAXMI  SHAH:

SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY:

DR. HEMANG JOSHI:

SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI CHINTAMANI  MAHARAJ:

SMT. SANJNA JATAV:

SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SMT. HIMADRI  SINGH:

SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA:

SHRI k4VINDRA SHUKLA ALIAS RAVI  KISHAN:

SHRI AVIMANYU SETHI:

SHRI HARIBHAI  PATEL:

SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI:

SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA:

SHRI MADHAVANENI RAGHUNANDAN RAO:

SHRI ALOK SHARMA:

SHRI CHAVDA VINOD LAKHAMSHI:

SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG:

SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SMT. APARAJITA SARANGI:

SHRI ANOOP PRADHAN VALMIKI:

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

Will  the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a): the number of beneficiaries currently  availing the portability  facility  in the country under the 'one Nation One Ration Card' (ONORC) scheme particularly in Chhattisgarh especially in Kanker, Kondagaon, Balod and Dhamtari districts and Bhopal Lok  Sabha Constituency, Nabarangpur Lok  Sabha Constituency ofOdisha,  Jharkhand particularly  Hazaribagh and Ramgarh, Bharatpur Lok Sabha Constituency, Shahdol Lok  Sabha Constituency, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh particularly  the Surguja Region;
- (b): whether the Government has assessed migration trends as reflected through portability transactions under ONORC scheme in the country particularly  among migrant workers and economically vulnerable groups especially in the districts ofBharatpur  Lok  Sabha Constituency and if  so, the details thereof including  key finding  regarding seasoned and long term migration trends
- (c) : the number of inter-State and intra-State  portability  transactions recorded during the last two years in the country including Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency and Uttar Pradesh

specially in Bulandshahr district;

- (d): whether data is available specifically  for Chhattisgmh particularly  the Surguja region regarding beneficiaries  and portability transactions;
- (e): the steps taken by the Government to ensure seamless availability  of ration for migrant workers and other beneficiaries under the scheme;
- (f): whether  awareness camps and technological  improvements  have been undertaken to strengthen the effective implementation of  ONORC;
- (g) : the steps proposed to further enhance portability,  transparency  and accessibility of ration cards under the scheme across all  State and UTs;  and
- (h): the measures adopted to strengthen digital  monitoring and grievances redressal mechanism under the Public  Distribution  System (PDS)?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a): The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) is  a technology-driven initiative of  the Department of  Food and Public Distribution,  aimed at enabling nationwide portability  of ration cards for  beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act  (NFS A). The ONORC facility  has been successfully implemented across all  36 States and Union  Territories, covering more than 80 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Manta  Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).  Under this system, eligible  beneficiaries  are able to lift  their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country using Aadhaar-based biometric  authentication through electronic  Point of  Sale (ePoS) devices.

As on date, more than 207 Crore portability transactions have been recorded under ONORC  across the country,  reflecting  extensive usage of the facility by beneficiaries.

State-wise portability transactions are as follows:

- Chhattisgarh (including Kanker, Kondagaon, Balod, Dhamtari districts and Sarguja Region) : 65.36 Lakh
- Odisha  (including Nabrangpur Lok  Sabha Constituency): 31.30 Lakh
- Uttar Pradesh: 17.83 Crore
- Madhya Pradesh (including Bhopal and Shahdol Lok Sabha Constituency): 8.38 Crore
- Jharkhand (including  Hazaribagh  and Ramgarh):  1.27 Crore ·
- Rajasthan (including Bharatpur Lok Sabha Constituency): 20.09 Crore ·

(b):  The ONORC portability  transactions, including  both inter-State and intra-State transactions, are  available in  public domain on  the  Integrated Management of  Public Distribution System (INIPDS) portal (www.imp(is.nic.in).

(c) and (d): Total Interstate and Intra  State Portability  transactions recorded in  last two  years (2024 and 2025) in country are 74.06 Crore. Further, a State-wise portability  transactions are as follows:

- Odisha  (including Nabrangpur Lok  Sabha Constituency): 31.30 Lakh
- Uttar Pradesh (including Bulandshahr district): 17.83 Crore
- Chhattisgarh (including  Sarguja Region) : 65.36 Lakh

(e) &  (f): The ONORC facility  is seamlessly available to all PMGKAY  beneficiaries across the country. The  Government has undertaken several awareness and technological measures to strengthen  the effective implementation of One  Nation One  Ration Card  (ONORC). To enable seamless portability,  end-to-end automation has been achieved in about 99.8% of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) (i.e., approximately 5.50 lakh out of 5.51 lakh FPSs) across the country. This ensures that beneficiaries can lift  their entitled foodgrains from any FPS in  any State/UT using Aadhaar-based authentication.

Further, the Mera Ration Mobile  App has been developed to facilitate migrant beneficiaries by providing  information  on nearby FPS locations, entitlement details, and transaction history. The app also supports portability by  helping beneficiaries  identify FPS shops where ONORC services are available.  In  addition,  States/UTs have been regularly  sensitised through  advisories, review meetings and field-level  awareness campaigns to promote the usage of  ONORC among beneficiaries.

- (g):  To further enhance portability,  transparency and accessibility under ONORC, the Department is implementing the SMART-PDS system, which is based on a microservices architecture with real-time  data integration  across States/UTs.

This unified digital framework enables seamless exchange of beneficiary and transaction data across States, thereby  strengthening  inter-State  portability. Further,  initiatives such as Aadhaar seeding, e-KYC, and national-level de-duplication of beneficiaries  are being undertaken to ensure accuracy and uniformity of  data.

(h): The Department has undertaken several measures to  strengthen digital  monitoring and grievance redressal mechanisms under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

Firstly,  grievance redressal systems have been strengthened through the universal  availability of toll-free helplines (1967/1800 series) across  all States/UTs. In addition, Anna Sahayata (ASHA) has been introduced as an Al-enabled grievance  redressal platform leveraging WhatsApp and IVRS channels, enabling beneficiaries  to lodge complaints and provide feedback in  their preferred  regional  languages.

The N4era Ration Mobile App also provides an integrated interface for beneficiaries to access their  entitlement details, view  transaction history, locate nearby FPSs, and register grievances directly.

Further, monitoring has been strengthened through integration with  the  CPGRAMS platform, wherein States/UTs have been advised to adhere to the prescribed timeline  of 21 days for grievance disposal. Grievance pendency  is regularly monitored through dashboards, and periodic advisories are issued to ensure timely  resolution.  States/UTs with  high  pendency are specifically  flagged for correctIve actIon.

These initiatives  collectively  enhance transparency,  improve  accountability, and ensure timely delivery of services to beneficiaries under the PDS .

jeSt

k

+e +(  Se