Ration Card New Rule: According to a recent report, the central government is looking at linking consumers’ bank accounts with their ration cards. It is worth noting here that ration cards were previously linked to Aadhaar and customers’ Aadhaar cards are already linked to their bank accounts through KYC processes.
The report suggests that the Union Ministry of Food and Public Distribution plans to suggest changes in the guidelines for ration distribution to facilitate this bank account linking. On February 28, the Union Food Secretaries met the State Food Secretaries to discuss the issue.
In that meeting, the Union Food Secretary raised the issue of revising the 2015 guidelines for regulating ration distribution, which led to much speculation. People are wondering whether this amendment will bring about any significant changes in the ration system by linking bank accounts with ration cards.
What could be included in these proposed changes?
There are demands that the e-KYC form, which is filled while issuing new ration cards, should not only link Aadhaar with the ration card, but also be required to collect the customer’s bank details.
Additionally, there is a question of whether the central government intends to transfer subsidy money directly to consumers’ accounts based on the prices of food items distributed through the ration system.
This may explain why states are being asked to collect customer account information. Currently, under the National Food Security Act, about 81.35 crore people are getting five kg of rice or wheat per person every month.
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