One Nation One Card Yojana National Common Mobility Card Scheme (NCMC): PM Modi on 28th Dec (Monday) has launched its ambitious and innovative scheme known as National Common Mobility Card. The facility is now available for some metro Airport Express Line. In this article, we are sharing all information in easy language like; what are ONOC scheme, benefits, and features of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) policy.
After “one nation one tax” Government of India launched “one nation one card”. On 4th March 2019, PM Modi proposed the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) called “One Nation One Card” and on 29th Dec 2020, it has been effectively launched in Delhi Metro. The main aim of this card is to make the payment system easier for all modes of public transport. This will eliminate various travel-related issues such as the need for standing in ticket windows in buses, trains, and other transit places.

One Nation One Card
Just like the concept of GST; with the introduction of one tax, citizens do not have to pay multiple taxes at various platforms and levels. Similarly, with this card, users can make payments of travel fares and other utilities just with this single card in any transport mode. It simply means with this inter-operable transport card, citizens can pay bus fares, metro fares, parking fees, toll taxes, retail shopping and can even withdraw money. This initiative of the Indian Government is based on the theme of one card usability in all payment systems.
This one nation one card or we can say the National Common Mobility Card is a part of the “Make in India” campaign/project of the Government of India. Until now, India has had to depend on a foreign country for technology. This card is indigenously developed and this proves that our country does not need to rely much on foreign technology.
As an Indian citizen, you would have also faced various issues while travelling like waiting in a long queue for getting tickets, fishing for changes, carrying cash and fear of stealing, and many more. But now with this one card, you will get rid of all the issues you face at payment terminals.
ONORC (One Nation One Ration Card Scheme)
Therefore, if you have questions about this one card policy of the government and which we are sure you will definitely have many, you do not have to worry. We have gathered all the important information about this initiative for our readers. So, just go through the article and enhance your knowledge about this particular scheme.
One Nation One Card Policy- Overview
Scheme | One Nation One Card |
Article Category | ONOC scheme info One nation one card apply online/Registration National Common Mobility Card Policy benefits/features |
Conceived by | Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Govt. of India |
Type of card | National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) |
Developed by | National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) |
Proposed | 4th March 2019 |
Launched on | 29th Dec 2020 |
Payment model | Card-based payment model |
How to apply for ONOC | Read here |
Launched by | Mr Narendra Modi |
Start Date to apply | Started in a few states |
Beneficiary | Indian Citizens |
Benefits | To Provide Connectivity between various modes of transport |
Official website | Not yet Declared |
What is the One Nation One Card Yojana?
One Nation One Card policy simply means a single card for various transactions. With the help of this card, users can make payments through various segments such as transit (e.g. Bus, Metro), Paratransit (parking, toll), smart cities, retail shopping etc. This format already exists in various developed nations of the world and now it will be used in India too.
One nation one card can be defined as an open loop EMV-based payment card for giving a hassle-free experience to customers at various transport modes and payment systems across the country.
This initiative was conceived by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has created the Reader prototype of this card. With the introduction of a single card, users get various benefits from travelling through various modes to shopping at retail stores and withdrawing money from ATMs. Users do not have to struggle for getting change at the ticket counters. This card will provide increased mobility and a seamless travel experience to the customers.
While launching the one nation one card PM said that it is a kind of mixture of a mobility card and a RuPay card. The card has been developed by considering the convenience of the consumers. Now, consumers do have to carry separate cards for various transit and day-to-day banking requirements. As it is an open loop smart card, users also get various benefits like reward/loyalty points, cashback etc. from partner banks as they get in Debit and Credit Cards.
This technology only existed in a few developed countries of the world but we too have joined that club who have this interoperable, scalable, dual interface, open loop payment card for the payment system. We can say that this card is an advanced version of the metro smart card that people use for travelling through the metro. Nevertheless, with this National Common Mobility Card, they can travel through various means of transport and can use it at various payment terminals.
Talking about the security factor of the transactions with this card: It is secured with EMV Technology. EMV is one of the globally available and adopted technology for safeguarding transactions against fraud. EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. It is basically a global standard for debit and credit cards (chip-based cards) that ensures the security of payments at various POS terminals.
Main benefits of NCMC
Through this scheme, those who hold a RuPay Debit card which was issued in the last 18 months from their respective bank can swipe it for their metro travel. Right now this service is available only for the Delhi Metro Airport Express line and by the end of 2022, it will be available to the entire DMRC network.
This will act as an automatic fare collection system and it can turn your smartphone into an interoperable transport card that people can use to pay their metro, bus, and other service fares that fall under the scheme.
This mobile can be used while entering or exiting the metro stations through AFC (Automatic fare collection)
Unique Features of One Nation One Card
Have a look at some of the unique features of this initiative of the Indian Government-

Important Points of One Nation One Card-
This concept of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is already functioning in various leading countries of the world and now it is going to be implemented in India with its indigenously developed NCMC smart card.
Let’s take a look and some of the key points of this card and understand it more clearly-
- This card is powered and enabled through the mechanism of the RuPay card.
- It is supported by an indigenously developed Open Loop Automatic Fare Collection System known as “Sweekar” and an Automatic Fare Collection Gate “Swagat”.
- With the help of this card, people can travel to Metros in any part of the country.
- Along with travelling, people can also use it as a prepaid, credit or debit card with support from 25 partner banks including SBI, PNB, etc.
- It can be used on a city bus, metro, suburban railways, BRT etc. and also for shopping at retail stores and merchants.
- Along with SBI and other banks, the RuPay card can be issued from Paytm Payment Banks.
- It is a contactless card just like a metro smart card. It supports both offline (contactless) and online (contact & contactless) transactions.
- With the help of the National Common Mobility Card, citizens can also pay for tolls and parking.
- One nation one card holders can also use this card at Discover and Diners Club International merchants and ATMs.
- Cardholders can also avail of a cashback of 10% at Merchant’s outlets and 5% at ATMs when they travel abroad.
- For offline payments, you can store the balance on this card. This stored value supports offline transactions across all the travel needs of the user. Since the offline transaction is permitted towards the stored value (available balance) there is a minimal financial risk to any of the stakeholders (i.e. bank or merchant) along with ensuring minimal transaction time.
One Nation One Card- NCMC Proposition
There are several benefits of an NCMC card to all the parties involved. These are-

The major benefits of this National Common Mobility Card are –
- Efficiency- With this card, daily operations at transit places become easy and fast and this ultimately improves the efficiency of the operations. Passengers or users do not have to wait in long queues for getting their work done; with this card, they can make the payment instantly without any hindrance. This saves time and effort for both the consumers and operators involved.
- Accountability- The second benefit is increased accountability of the operator towards the customer. The operator gets better date insights and records of all the transactions made through this card.
- Lowers the cost of ticketing operation- This system increases efficiency and lowers the cost of ticketing. It also reduces operating costs and handling of cash for the operator.
- Interoperability for passengers- It means passengers can use this single across various transit operation systems such as buses, trains, cabs, parking, toll plazas etc. The passenger does not need to carry cash and different cards for every transit operation.
Value Proposition of NCMC
NCMC is not only valuable for the customer but is also beneficial for operators and banks. Check the value proposition of this card from the viewpoint of all three parties viz. Customer, acquirer, and bank are given below-

NCMC Implementation Model
You must be thinking of how NCMC or RuPay cards will work in a transport system. So, here we have shared a sample implementation Model of the NCMC card in a Bus Transport system. The picture given below shows the complete model of how an NCMC card will work in State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs).

The same concept will be followed in other segments like Metro, parking, toll, and smart cities.
How to get RuPay One Nation One Card?
NCMC RuPay card will be issued –
- By any authority or member authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- On Credit/credit/Prepaid card platforms.
In simple terms, those who want to get their One Nation One Payment RuPay card supported by National Common Mobility Card are required to contact their bank.
At the current initial stage of this program, it seems to be focused largely on urban areas but with time, the government needs to work on its penetration of the demographic masses including the rural population of the country.
It will not be wrong if we say that with the launch of “one nation one card”, India has moved a step ahead toward its goal of “Make in India”, “Digital India” and making India a cashless economy.
NOTE: We will update this article with the latest information as soon as the government released an official notification. Keep visiting us to get more updates on the one card one nation scheme.
If you have any queries about National Common Mobility Card/ONOC then you can ask us in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you.