CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today launched the One Nation; One Ration Card Scheme at the secretariat and three family cardholders received essential commodities under the scheme from him.
In the first phase, this scheme came into force with immediate effect in 32 districts, and in the second phase, this scheme will come into force from October 16 in six districts - Thoothukudi, Thanjavur, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, and Tiruvannamalai.
Through this system, the migratory NFSA beneficiaries, who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of temporary employment, etc. are now enabled with an option to lift their entitled quota of foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice anywhere in the country by using their same/existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar based authentication on an electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device installed at the FPSs.
The family cardholders in Tamil Nadu can receive their PDS supply from any fair price shop in any part of the State.
The family cardholders in Tamil Nadu who could not ensure their identity through the biometric authentication can do so by scanning the Smart Card and the Aadhaar card besides using the One Time Password sent to the mobile number used in the Aadhaar card.
Also, the elderly persons and those who are fallen ill can receive their PDS supply through a person authorised by them.
An official release here said a few years ago, the Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu was completely computerised at an expenditure of Rs.330 crore.
Following this, Smart based on the information given in Aadhaar cards were issued to the family cardholders. At present, all family cardholders are getting essential commodities using smart cards.