The government has eligibility criteria that are based upon the annual income of the household and the number of members in the family. There are different types of ration cards, namely: APL(above poverty line) ration card, BPL(below poverty line ) ration card. These have different eligibility criteria and a different amount of food grains and ration provided. The ration card is also a well-accepted identity proof for an Indian citizen. Different schemes are formulated by the government to avail of the benefits based on the availability of food grains(informed by the planning commission).
The subsidized food grain is provided by the Public Distribution system under the National food security act.
There are two types of ration cards:
Priority ration card: issued to only those households who fulfill the eligibility criteria set by their state government. They receive about 5 kilograms of food grain per member every month.
Antyodaya (AAY) ration cards: they are issued to the poorest households, the ones who do not have a stable source of income or the head of the family’s income is not capable of subsistence. They receive 35 kilograms of food per month.
BEFORE THE NFSA WAS ENACTED:
Before the NFSA was enacted, there were three types of ration cards, namely Above poverty line ration cards, below poverty line ration cards, and the AAY Antyodaya Ration Cards.
There are different schemes which are created by the government, one of these schemes was the “One nation, one ration card scheme,” which was implemented by 17 states in all. One can collect ration for their family from the Public distribution system (PDS) shops.
ONE NATION, ONE RATION CARD scheme was launched by the government with the initiative that people would be able to avail their entitled food grains and ration under the National food security act(NFSA) from fair shops in the country.
To enable the feasibility of the ration card, state governments have urged the ration card to be in a bi-lingual format, which would make it easy for the citizens. The first language would be the individual’s local language, while the other would be Hindi. Talking about today’s condition of the lockdown, the migrant workers who are stuck at different places would be benefitted from this initiative of the government of India. Ration card holders would hence be able to buy the subsidized food grains by their existing ration cards issued in their own hometown or state.
WHO ARE BENEFITTED BY THE RATION CARD:
Any legal citizen of India can apply and reap the benefits
children below 18 years of age can use the facilities with their parents’ ration cards. However, they have to apply for separate ration cards after 18 years of age.
All ration card holders under this one nation, one ration card scheme, can buy subsidized food grains from fair price shops.
To avail of all these benefits, make sure you fit into the eligibility criteria, and have a ration card issued.
Taking note of various benefits of ration ration card, one must apply for it. Government has now made application process simple by taking it online. Not only ration card but one can also apply for other documents like employment card, shramik card through online portals.
