The Punjab Smart Ration Card Scheme is the new version of the Atta-Dal scheme in 2020, under which all blue ration cards will be replaced with new smart ration cards, all new smart ration cards will come with a chip for BPL families.
The state government of Punjab has given its approval for the replacement of the blue card under the Atta-Dal scheme with the new smart card. The Atta-Dal scheme blue card was launched by the Department of Food and Supplies, Government of Punjab under the previous government to cover around 30 lakh beneficiaries in the state. As per the orders of the state government, the new Atta Dal scheme has been renamed to the Smart Ration Card Scheme 2020. This new scheme will cover 1.42 crore beneficiaries as per the new list.
The Deputy Commissioners of all the districts of the state will be responsible for re-verification of the beneficiaries. Government of Punjab BPL has initiated the process of creating smart ration cards with a chip to distribute subsidized rations to families.
| Name | Smart Ration Card Scheme |
| Old Name | Atta Dal Scheme |
| Re-launched By | Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh |
| Date | Nov 2017 |
| Imp Document | Blue ration card |
| Monitored By | Punjab Food and Supply Department |
| Official Site | http://foodsuppb.gov.in/ |
| Target Audience | BPL People |
| Helpline | 180030011007 |
Punjab Smart Ration Card Scheme 2020
- The total number of beneficiaries of Smart Ration Card Scheme in Punjab is 1.42 crore.
- The eldest woman will be the head of the family.
- Wheat will be given at a price of Rs. 2 / – per kg.
- Wheat will be given biennially.
- The distribution will be done directly by the Punjab government at the beneficiary’s home. Food and Civil Supplies Department.
- The beneficiary gets to keep the wheat bags in which he gets the grain.
- Beneficiaries are de-duplicated based on Aadhaar number.
- The beneficiary consumer can go to court if he does not get the wheat as per his right.
- Wheat will be delivered in 30 kg standard packing.
- Department officials, beneficiaries, transporters, gram panchayats, Nigrani Samiti – all these will work in coordination for proper disbursement of wheat.
- There is no upper cap. Each member gets five kg of wheat per month.
Punjab Smart Ration Card Scheme Apply Online
All the details of the cardholder beneficiaries have been digitized and are available on the Transparency Portal of the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs at http://foodsuppb.gov.in/. Direct link is given below to apply online for New Smart Ration Card Scheme: –
http://punjab.gov.in/issuance-of-ration-card
The block wise list of active fair price shops is also available on the same portal and can be accessed by selecting the district and block. This new smart ration card scheme is being implemented under the National Food Security Act-2013. The state government has already seeded all the details of the beneficiaries with their Aadhaar numbers.
Download smart ration card punjab form pdf
All the candidates can now download the new ration card to apply for the ration card and get the ration at discounted rates. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Broadcasting Engineering Consultants Indian Limited (BECIL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) have received instructions from the State Government to implement the computerization work of TPDS. Companies will follow an appropriate price discovery mechanism for successful implementation of the scheme.
The state government will also provide e-POS (Electronic Point of Sale) machines at various purchasing centers, DCP godowns and FPS in the state. These machines will be connected to waiting machines and IRIS scanners. The machines will use bio-metric based identification of beneficiaries. The new smart ration cards in place of the usual blue cards will help to increase efficiency and bring more transparency to the entire public distribution system.
http://foodsuppb.nic.in/newattadal.html.
Key features of the scheme
- Providing food grains to poor and needy – The state authority of Punjab has implemented this food welfare scheme for making low cost food grains, mainly atta and dal, to people who are poor and needy. It will empower them and make sure that they do not stay on empty stomach.
- Sending grains directly to homes – As per this food grain scheme, each selected applicant will not have to worry about going to the ration shop to get their grains. The state authority will make arrangements to send the grains directly to the homes of the beneficiaries.
- Grains at low rates – People who are selected under this program will get food grains at low process. The state will give subsidy on the price of these food grains.
- Smart cards will be issues – To identify the beneficiaries, the state authority has decided that each will be given a smart card. This pass will replace the blue ration card that was issued by the previous government.
- Amount of pulses to be distributes – As per the draft of this scheme, each smart card holding household will be entitled to get 2.5 kg pulses.
- Cost of wheat under the scheme – Under this scheme, each smart card holding household will have to pay only Rs 2 for every kilogram of wheat they purchase.
- Number of beneficiaries – The previous version of this program reached out to around 30 lakh receivers. The new government wants to cater to those individuals and also reach out to more people.
- Part of Food Security Act – The development of this program was done in line with the National Food Security Act of 2013. Its aim was to ensure that poorest of the poor have access to food grains.
- Sponsored by the state government – As mentioned, all financial requirements, arising out of the implementation of this project will be provided by Punjab authority.
Eligibility criteria of the scheme
- Residential criterion – The scheme has been implemented only for benefit of people who are legal residents of Punjab. Anyone else, who does not fall under this category, will not be allowed to get the advantages.
- Income related criterion – Only people who have low income and fall under BPL category will be allowed to get food grains at low rates.
Important documents required
- Aadhar card – Just like other schemes, people who have access to their Aadhar cards will only be able to apply for this program. They need to provide Aadhar code as it will be seeded with the new smart ration pass.
- Residential documents – Any document that can prove that the applicant actually hails from Punjab will be allowed to get food grains at subsidized rate. Any legal residential document’s photocopy will make the cut.
- BPL card – Only people who belong to poor strata will be able to get food grains (dal and atta) at low price. Thus, each applicant must attach a photocopy of his/her BPL card with the registration from.
- Caste certificates – Apart from people with low purchasing power, individuals from backward castes as well get the benefits and so, thy need to attach respective ST, SC, and OBC certificates also.
- Antyodaya food pass – It is mandatory that each applicant has access to Antyodaya food pass. If this document is missing, then state government will not process that application.
- Passport sized image of the applicants – Applicants are required to attach a recently clicked passport sized snap with the applicant form. It will assist in identification of the respective person.
How to apply for the Blue card?
- Though one can get details from the site, all applications are to be made via offline procedure.
- Any person who desires to get food grains from the state government at low prices will have to collect the application form from the Food officer’s office, located in each district.
- These application forms are also available from the office of the Taluks development department.
- The application form has many fields, which must be filled with the name, address, contact details, district or Taluka name. An image of the applicant must be pasted in the appropriate place.
- To make the application viable, a candidate will have to attach photocopy of documents with it. Make sure that all data is entered in this form in proper order.
- To submit this form, every candidate can either go to the nearest Gram Panchayat office, Block Officer, or to the Zilla Parishad office. The applications will be forwarded to the respective department for verification from these offices.