States/UTs informed to submit subsidy claims by August 15
New Delhi, July 6 (MExN): With an index score of 0.648, Nagaland was ranked 4th among 14 Special Category States and Union Territories in the first-ever ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’ (National Food Security Act).
Tripura topped the ‘Special Category States and UTs’ comprising of the North-East states, Himalayan states, and the Island Regions. It was followed by Himachal Pradesh (0.758) and Sikkim (0.710).
Among the General Category States, Odisha had the highest index score of 0.836, followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.797) and Andhra Pradesh (0.794)
Overall, however, Nagaland was ranked 23rd among 34 States and UTs in Direct Benefit Transfer (cash transfer).
Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh occupied the top-three respectively while Ladakh was at the bottom, followed by Meghalaya and Manipur.
According to an official release, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal officially release the 1st edition during the conference of Food Ministers of States/UTs on ‘Food Nutrition and Security in India’ organised by Department of Food and Public Distribution in New Delhi on July 5.
As per the NFSA Dashboard assessed on July 5, there are 3,14,433 rations cards holder in Nagaland out of which 46,973 are under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and 2,67,460 are PHH (Priority Households) with 10,93,322 total beneficiaries. Out of this, 3,02,129 were Aadhaar-Seeded cards, while 10,28,093 were Aadhaar-Seeded beneficiaries
100% ONORC
The release from the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries stated that Goyal informed the conference that India is now 100% connected under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the path breaking initiative and all those associated with it.
Going forward, he maintained that the system of digitized, Aadhaar linked Public Distribution will be used to issue Ayushman Bharat Card, citing the case of Uttar Pradesh and urging other states to consider the system to provide nutritional security as well as health security.
As per the release, the Minister also in announced that the deadline to submit claims of pending dues for food subsidy to states till the year 2019-20 is August 15, 2022.
He reiterated that no dues will be entertained after the deadline and added that the pending bills of the States/UTs that finalise the audited accounts with supporting documents by August 15, 2022, would be cleared within 60 days (October 15, 2022).
The subsidy claims are pending not because the funds are not available with the Centre, but because the States/UTs are not providing relevant data, he claimed, as per the release.
What is NFSA Ranking?
The “State ranking Index for NFSA” was an attempt to document the status and progress of implementation of NFSA and various reform initiatives across the country, post consultation with states.
It highlights the reforms undertaken by States and UTs and create a cross-learning environment and scale-up reform measures by all states and union territories, the release said.
The Index for ranking the states and UTs was built on three key pillars: i) NFSA— Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, ii) Delivery platform, and iii) Nutrition initiatives.
While the present Index largely focused on NFSA Distribution, it would include procurement, PMGKAY Distribution in future, it said. The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted on July 5, 2013.
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