Chapter-17 : Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs
Short Notes or Revision Notes
GIST of India Year Book 2024
Consumer Protection
- Consumer Welfare Fund:Aims to strengthen consumer rights and movements in India.
- Provides seed money to states/UTs to create a Consumer Welfare (Corpus) Fund.
- Funds generated from the Corpus support consumer welfare projects.
- 24 states have established the Corpus Fund so far.
- Grants are also provided for capacity building programs at National Law Universities.
National Food Security Act (NFSA) (2013)
- Goal:Ensure access to affordable, quality food for all.
- Coverage:
- Up to 75% of rural population.
- Up to 50% of urban population.
- Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS):Provides subsidized food grains.
- Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): Poorest of the poor receive 35 kg per household/month at ₹1/2/3 per kg.
- Priority Households: Receive 5 kg per person/month at the same subsidized prices.
New Integrated Food Security Scheme (January 1, 2023):
- Free food grains to 81.35 crore NFSA beneficiaries.
- One Nation-One Price-One Ration Card:Aims for uniform ration access across India.
- Implementation:
- Free food grains for all AAY and Priority Household beneficiaries for one year.
- Distribution through 5.33 lakh Fair Price Shops.
- Subsumes existing schemes:
- Food Subsidy to FCI for NFSA
- Food Subsidy for decentralized procurement states
Overall Goal: Provide social and legal commitment to ensure access to food and nutritional security for all.
One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)
- Enables NFSA beneficiaries to access subsidized food grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in India.
- Achieved through:
- Nationwide portability of ration cards.
- ePoS devices at FPS locations.
- Aadhaar seeding with ration cards.
- Biometrically authenticated transactions.
Continuation of Free Food Grains under PMGKAY
- Free food grains for 81.35 crore beneficiaries for five years starting January 2024.
- Key Points:
- Largest social welfare scheme for food security globally.
- Uniform delivery of free grains across India (rice, wheat, or millets).
- Nation-wide network of over 5 lakh Fair Price Shops.
- Ease of access for migrants through portability under ONORC.
- Promotes “Digital India” through technology-based reforms.
Public Distribution System (PDS) Reforms in India
End-to-End Computerization (TPDS):
- Aims for transparency in distributing subsidized food grains.
- Implemented with all states/UTs on a cost-sharing basis.
- Key features:
- Digitization of ration cards and beneficiary data.
- Aadhaar seeding for unique beneficiary identification.
- Weed out duplicate/ineligible beneficiaries.
- Completion by December 2023 (no denial of entitlements until then).
Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IMPDS):
- Launched in 2018-19, a central sector scheme to build upon End-to-End Computerization.
- Objectives:
- Nationwide portability of ration cards.
- Data analytics for continuous improvement.
- Established a Central Repository for all ration card/beneficiary data.
One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC):
- Enables nationwide portability for PDS beneficiaries.
- Technology-driven initiative for easier access to rations across India.
Mera Ration Mobile App:
- Part of the ONORC plan’s technology reforms.
- Features (available in 13 languages):
- View entitlement details.
- Check transaction history.
- Verify Aadhaar seeding status and portability eligibility.
- Register for ONORC (voluntary).
- Locate nearby Fair Price Shops (FPS) using GPS.
Smart PDS (April 2023 – March 2026):
- A centrally sponsored scheme to further enhance PDS reforms.
- Goals:
- Sustain existing technology-driven improvements.
- Introduce new reforms for efficient PDS functioning.
- Strengthen national portability under ONORC.
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