Around 48 pc beneficiaries in 5 states fully aware of ration card portability; need greater awareness: Study

Only about 48 per cent of the beneficiaries in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, are fully aware of the ration card portability and need to focus on greater awareness to make the ONORC scheme more inclusive, according to a study released on Tuesday.

New Delhi: Only about 48 per cent of the beneficiaries in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, are fully aware of the ration card portability and need to focus on greater awareness to make the ONORC scheme more inclusive, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study by a social impact advisory group Dalberg, conducted in five states - Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh -- found 31 per cent of beneficiaries in these five states were partially aware, while at least 20 per cent of them were unaware of the 'One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme.

Under the ONORC scheme, beneficiaries holding a ration card under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) can collect their monthly quota of foodgrain from any fair price shop across the country. The portability depends on electronic point of sale (ePoS) machines, which use the Aadhaar-linked biometric authentication to verify the identity and entitlement of beneficiaries. According to the study, about 88 per cent of households using portability succeeded in collecting their rations, while four per cent could not.

About 12 per cent of them reported experiencing a transaction failure. "Technology-related failures and PDS dealers' fear of stockouts were among the most common reasons for failure," it said. About two per cent of beneficiaries were yet to seed their ration card with Aadhaar. Widowed, divorced or separated women faced steeper barriers in getting or updating their ration cards, it added. The study also underlined the need for better education of PDS dealers about ONORC's entitlements and better support to them in key areas.

About 97 per cent of PDS dealers knew or partially knew of ration portability, but only 74 per cent knew that inter-state portability is also possible. About 52 per cent of dealers did not use any exception handling when ePoS-based transactions failed due to connectivity or biometric authentication. The study also found that 32 per cent of PDS dealers believed that their business model was not viable under portability due to fear of poor customer retention or a lack of capacity to handle demand surges.

"10 per cent ran out of stock at least once in the three months preceding the survey," it added. Dalberg Advisors Partner Swetha Totapally said India's move to launch a 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme (ONORC) right before the pandemic has served many. "As the initiative gains nation-wide traction, we believe responding to some of the gaps, such as low awareness amongst beneficiaries of how and where they can access the portability features and reducing transaction failure rates is vital," she said.

Equally, learnings from the successes of early adopter states who have brought about important changes on the supply side, such as a flexible stock requisition system to better support PDS dealers, will prove crucial to helping put PDS in the hands of all, she said. The study was supported by Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact.

Stating that the study clearly shows that ONORC has made portability possible, Omidyar Network India Partner Shilpa Kumar said: "To make ONORC more inclusive and even more meaningful for every Indian, we need a focus on greater awareness of portability possibilities and technology up-gradation of PDS dealers along with usage of offline methodologies to handle exceptions". ONORC can potentially play a key role in mitigating crises in the future by creating a seamless food safety net for Indians, no matter where they live and where they are from, she added. The study focused on five states, which were among some of the early adopters of the scheme and account for more than 40 per cent of PDS transactions conducted under portability.

PTI