'One nation, one ration card' scheme will be made applicable across country from June: Paswan

The government on Friday informed Rajya Sabha that the 'one nation, one ration card' scheme will be made applicable across the country barring some northeastern states from June 1.

The 'one nation, one ration card' scheme allows a beneficiary to avail subsidised ration anywhere in the country, provided the ration card is linked to Aadhaar and there are 100 per cent POS machines installed at ration shops.

Food Supplies Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the scheme has been available in 12 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tripura, Goa, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh -- since January 1.

Paswan said there would be no need to procure new ration cards under the scheme and added rumours spread in this regard were being dealt with strongly by the department. If need, such cases could be handed over to the CBI, he said.

The minister said states that will complete required formalities would come under the scheme and it is the duty of state governments to ensure ration cards are linked to Aadhaar and POS machines are installed at all ration shops.

"I urge all state governments to do this by June this year so that the scheme can be made applicable across the country from June 1," he said.

He said the scheme will be applicable through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative.