Following Ayushman Bharat Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, the West Bengal government is hesitant to implement yet another Central scheme, ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’, for subsidized foodgrains due to “differences of opinion.” Jyotipriya Mallick, the State Food Minister, stated, “We are yet to receive a letter from the Centre regarding the scheme. We have heard about it and have differing opinions.”

The ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ initiative allows beneficiaries to purchase subsidized foodgrains from ration shops across India, ensuring that no underprivileged individual is denied their public distribution system (PDS) entitlement. Mallick added, “We initiated a state food security scheme, ‘Khadya Sathi,’ in 2018. We have completed the digitization of ration cards at a cost of Rs 200 crore. Can the Centre provide us with Rs 200 crore? The Centre already owes us Rs 5,000. Once the outstanding amount is cleared, we will consider joining the scheme.”

“Under the National Food Security (NFS) scheme, the West Bengal government is providing subsidized foodgrains to nearly 5 crore people. Additionally, 2 crore individuals previously excluded from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list are benefiting from NFS. Furthermore, tea garden workers in Junglemahal and Singur also enjoy this facility,” mentioned an official from the food department.

The Central government set a deadline of June 30, 2020, for states and union territories to implement the scheme. Ten states—Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Tripura—are already providing portability of PDS entitlements, as stated by Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan last month.

Previously, the state government had opted out of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogyo Yojana, offering free healthcare to the impoverished, and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, providing Rs 6,000 in annual income support to farmers.