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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1963
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10TH MARCH, 2026
NATIONWIDE PORTABILITY UNDER ONORC
1963 SIVITo SANGEETA YADAV:
Wilt the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution be pleased to
state
(a): whether any technology architecture, authentication framework or data integration
platforn1 has been proposed for enabling nationwide portability under One Nation One
Ration Card:
(b): if so. the current status of development or testing of such sysl'ems:
(c) whether pilot implementation or phased rollout has been envisaged prior to nation\.\'ide
launch: and
(d): if so. the details on the tentative timeline for such pilots. if any?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS,
FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)
(a) to (d): The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) is a technology-driven initiative of the
Department of Food and Public Distribution that enables nationwide portability of ration cards
for beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFS A). The system allows
eligible beneficiaries, particularly migrant workers and other mobile populations, to lift their
entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country through Aadhaar-based
biometric authentication using ePoS devices. The system integrates ration card databases of all
States/UTs and facilitates seamless portability through interoperable ePoS devices deployed at
Fair Price Shops.
The implementation of ONORC was carried out in a phased manner, beginning with pilot
inter-State portability transactions in August 2019, followed by gradual onboarding of
States/UTs. At present, ONORC has been successfully implemented across all 36 States and
Union Territories, covering about 80 crore NFS A beneficiaries (100% of the NFS A population).
Accordingly, the ONORC facility is now automatically available to all PMGKAY beneficiaries
across the country.
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