{"id":33777,"date":"2024-12-16T18:20:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T12:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=33777"},"modified":"2024-12-16T18:20:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T12:50:53","slug":"public-distribution-system-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-12-2024\/public-distribution-system-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Public Distribution System (PDS) in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has released its report on the \u2018Performance Audit on Supply Chain Management of Public Distribution\u2019 of Karnataka\u2019s Public Distribution System.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use of Unauthorised Vehicles:<\/strong> There was the use of passenger vehicles and light goods vehicles in transporting foodgrains.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The vehicles used for transporting food grains should be in accordance with the list of vehicles submitted to the Department (of Food and Civil Supplies).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wholesale Depot (WSD):<\/strong> Audit observed that poor maintenance of WSDs increased the risk of contamination and pest infestation of foodgrains leading to loss and degraded foodgrain quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Public Distribution System:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a government-run food distribution program aimed at providing essential commodities, such as rice, wheat, sugar, and kerosene, to the economically vulnerable sections of society at subsidized rates.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Objectives:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Food Security:<\/strong> Ensure the availability of essential food items to the poorer sections of society.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poverty Alleviation:<\/strong> Provide subsidized goods to low-income households, reducing the financial burden on them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Price Stabilization: <\/strong>Control the prices of essential commodities in the market, ensuring affordability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Evolution of the Public Distribution System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1940s-1950s:<\/strong> Initially, PDS was launched to tackle food shortages in times of war and famines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1960s-1970s: <\/strong>The Green Revolution increased food production, which enabled the government to expand the system to reach more people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1980s:<\/strong> The introduction of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in 1997, aimed at improving the targeting of food assistance to the poor, began to streamline the allocation of food grains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2000s:<\/strong> Digitization and reforms to improve transparency, such as the introduction of electronic ration cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2010s and Beyond:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The National Food Security Act (NFSA),<\/strong> 2013, aimed at covering more than 80 crore (800 million) people under the PDS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It introduced a legal entitlement to subsidized food for eligible households, emphasizing nutritional security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Features of PDS in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Targeted Distribution:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NFSA covers upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While AAY households, which constitute the poorest of the poor are entitled to 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month, priority households are entitled to 5 kg per person per month.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role of the Government:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Central Government<\/strong>, through the <strong>Food Corporation of India (FCI),<\/strong> handles procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>State Governments<\/strong> are responsible for distributing these grains to eligible families through a network of<strong> Fair Price Shops (FPS).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in the Public Distribution System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Leakage and Diversion:<\/strong> A significant amount of food grains are diverted from the intended beneficiaries to the open market, leading to inefficiencies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exclusion Errors:<\/strong> Some of the poorest households are excluded from the PDS due to issues in the identification process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quality Control: <\/strong>The quality of food grains distributed is sometimes poor, which undermines the effectiveness of the system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Corruption and Fraud: <\/strong>Fraudulent practices by fair price shop owners, such as selling PDS items at higher prices or diverting them for personal gain, have been a persistent issue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Storage and Transportation: <\/strong>The logistical challenge of transporting food grains to remote and difficult-to-reach areas continues to affect the efficiency of the system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digitization Issues: <\/strong>While the digitization of the PDS has improved transparency, the process has been slow and is still prone to errors, such as technical glitches and discrepancies in data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reforms and Modernization Efforts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Food Security Act, 2013: <\/strong>Enacted to provide legal entitlement to subsidized food grains to two-thirds of India&#8217;s population.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensures the coverage of 75% of rural and 50% of urban population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital Ration Cards: <\/strong>The introduction of digital ration cards and Aadhaar-based biometric authentication aims to eliminate fake and duplicate ration cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):<\/strong> In some regions, DBT has been implemented, where money is transferred directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries instead of providing food grains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>End-to-End Computerization:<\/strong> The PDS system is being computerized to improve transparency, minimize leakages, and make distribution more efficient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Food Safety and Quality Monitoring:<\/strong> Various measures have been taken to improve the quality control of food grains provided under the PDS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Implement social audits and public grievance redressal mechanisms <\/strong>to hold PDS stakeholders accountable and address issues like corruption and leakages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increase awareness<\/strong> among the public about their entitlements under the PDS and involve local communities in monitoring and decision-making.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Extend the PDS to include more nutritious food items <\/strong>such as pulses, oil, and fortified grains to improve the overall nutritional status of the population.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These measures, if implemented effectively, can help ensure that the PDS continues to serve as a <strong>crucial tool for addressing food insecurity and poverty in India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/cag-flags-suspicious-pds-deliveries-244-quintals-in-car-300-on-3-wheeler-9726822\/#:~:text=A%20minitruck%20%E2%80%94%20which%20has%20a,some%20of%20the%20findings%20of\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has released its report on the \u2018Performance Audit on Supply Chain Management of Public Distribution\u2019 of Karnataka\u2019s Public Distribution System.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33778,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33777\/revisions\/33778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}