Nationwide ration portability to be introduced soon

On the lines of cellphone portability, ration card holders of any village, town or city in Telangana can obtain ration from any fair price shop (FPS) in India soon, due to the central government’s initiative to launch a pilot project.

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana have been selected for the national-level pilot project, which will be funded by the government of India. The crucial aspect to achieve the nationwide ration portability is to ensure that Aadhaar cards of every eligible candidate are linked to ration cards.

Telangana is one of the first states to have achieved state-wide portability in the public distribution system (PDS) as the state-level portability came into effect on April 1. This allows a ration card holder registered with a particular FPS to draw ration from any FPS in the state.


After encouraging state governments to adopt technology and provide state-wide portability for ration card holders, the Narendra Modi-led government now is looking at countrywide portability. This will revolutionise the PDS and come as a boon to migrant workers.

“It will be a boon to the poor who migrate from one state to the other in search of livelihood. Ration card holders of Telugu states will benefit immensely through portability as workers and labourers keep shuttling between the two states,” an official said.