Staff Reporter
Odisha has been placed at top rank followed by Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh as most effective in the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) through ration shops while Goa and Chhattisgarh have been laggards, rankings released by the government showed on Tuesday.. Mr. Goyal urged the states to increase the sowing of rice and wheat which will help in increasing exports.
Gujarat occupied fourth place, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.
Kerala has been ranked at the 11th position, Telangana (12th), Maharashtra (13th), West Bengal (14th) and Rajasthan (15th). Punjab is at the 16th position, followed by Haryana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Goa.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is now 100% connected under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC). He added that 45 crore transitions have taken so far providing the beneficiaries with the freedom to collect ration from any State or UT in the country.
Goyal said that the system of digitized, Aadhaar linked Public Distribution will be used to issue Ayushman Bharat Card. He said, health and food are naturally connected and nutritional security will get a fillip with health security.
The Minister today released the first edition of ‘State Ranking Index for National Food Security Act. While addressing the National Conference on Food and Nutrition Security in New Delhi, he said, India is now 100 percent connected under One Nation One Ration Card. He said, 45 crore transactions have already happened under this unique initiative which provided the beneficiaries, freedom to collect ration from any State and Union Territory in the country. Terming One Nation One Ration Card a revolutionary step, he said, this initiative supported migrants during Covid pandemic.
About the State Ranking Index, Mr. Goyal said, the state rankings for food distribution will encourage more competition to improve systems. He said, this is the first time that sates have been ranked for food distribution under National Food Security Act. In the ranking,