Parliament Question: ONORC in Himachal Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2914 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5TH AUGUST, 2026 ONORC IN HIMACHAL PRADESH 2914 MS KANGNA RANAUT: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has conducted any independent outcome evaluation of the implementation of the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative in Himachal Pradesh to assess its effectiveness in ensuring portability of foodgrain entitlements particularly for seasonal migrant workers, construction workers and other vulnerable beneficiaries and if so, the details thereof (b) whether such evaluation examined authentication success rates, transaction failures, portability usage, grievance redressal mechanisms and beneficiary satisfaction especially in rural, remote and hilly areas of the said State and if so, the major findings and recommendations of such evaluation; (c) whether the Government proposes to strengthen or revise the implementation framework of ONORC for geographically difficult and hilly States based on the findings of such evaluation; and (d) if so, the details thereoP ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a) to (d): The Government has not conducted any independent outcome evaluation of .the implementation of the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative in Himachal Pradesh to assess its effectiveness in ensuring portability of foodgrain entitlements particularly for seasonal migrant workers, construction workers and other vulnerable beneficiaries. However, in order to strengthen implementation of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) under National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, the Department of Food and Public Distribution conducted the concurrent evaluation for assessment of the implementation of PMGKAY during 2025-26. The assessment outcomes are generated at National/State level. The State of Himachal Pradesh performs strongly in Service Delivery and Grievance Redressal & Governance, supported by effective foodgrain distribution systems, strong Vigilance committee awareness and active monitoring mechanisms, while the state performs moderately in Digital inclusion. As per the concurrent evaluation survey, the Estimated percentage with respect to different Service Delivery indicators related to ONORC are given at Annexure-I. The Government has taken following steps to strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS) including ONORC:(i) Ofnine Functionality of e-PoS Devices: e-PoS devices deployed at Fair Price Shops are equipped with offline transaction capability, enabling authenticated distribution of foodgrains to continue in areas of limited or no internet connectivity. Such devices synchronise the recorded transactions with the central PDS system once network connectivity becomes available, ensuring no eligible beneficiary is denied their entitlement on account of connectivity gaps. (ii) Multiple Modes of Authentication: To address biometric authentication failures common in remote and hilly terrain, the Department has provisioned alternate authentication modes, including Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, IRIS scan, and Fusion Finger, along with a nominee facility, ensuring that genuine beneficiaries are not deprived offoodgrains. (iii) SMART-PDS Rollout: The SMART-PDS reform initiative, covering Ration Card Management, Distribution, Supply Chain and Grievance modules, is being extended to all States/tiTs. (iv) Strengthened Grievance Redressal: Beneficiaries in geographically difficult States can access the Anna Sahayata Al-enabled WhatsApp/IVRS grievance system, universal 1967/1800- series toll-free helplines, and the Mera Ration mobile application to report and track resolution of any portability or entitlement-related issues, in their own language. (v) Rightful Targeting: Data-driven Rightful Targeting exercises are being undertaken to keep the beneficiary database accurate and updated, thereby ensuring that the benefits of ONORC portability reach genuine NFSA households across all States/UTs, including those in difficult terrain. ##8+8Annexure-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2914 FOR ANSWER ON 05.08.2026 IN THE LOK SABHA As per the Survey, Estimated percentage of indicators FPSs enabled for ONORC transactions FPSs actively implementing ONORC services Beneficiaries aware of ONORC portability services 888#8