{"id":42597,"date":"2025-05-02T20:44:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T15:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=42597"},"modified":"2025-05-03T10:47:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T05:17:39","slug":"supreme-court-flags-concerns-over-free-ration-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-05-2025\/supreme-court-flags-concerns-over-free-ration-distribution","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Flags Concerns Over Free Ration Distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Welfare Schemes; Government Policy &amp; Intervention<\/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>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has raised concerns over the free ration distribution system, questioning its long-term sustainability and impact on economic policies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Development Perspective: Economic Sustainability<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Supreme Court\u2019s Concerns:<\/strong> It observed that while States procure food grains from the Centre and distribute them for free, the <strong>financial burden<\/strong><strong>ultimately falls on taxpayers.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It questioned whether India, in 2025, is still grappling with the <strong>same poverty levels as in 2011<\/strong>, when the last Census was conducted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Need for Employment and Infrastructure Development:<\/strong> The court stressed that free ration distribution alone cannot be a long-term solution to poverty.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It urged policymakers to focus on job creation and infrastructure growth to ensure economic stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concerns Over Welfare Dependency:<\/strong> The court cautioned against excessive reliance on freebies, arguing that such policies might discourage people from seeking employment.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Justice B.R. Gavai remarked that free benefits <strong>should not create a \u2018parasitic existence\u2019,<\/strong> where individuals lose the motivation to work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Welfare Argument: Ensuring Food Security<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Public Distribution System (PDS): NFSA 2013 <\/strong>entitles 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to&nbsp; to receive highly subsidised foodgrains under <strong>two categories of beneficiaries:<\/strong> \u2013 the <strong>Antodaya Anna Yojana households<\/strong>, and the <strong>priority Households.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)<\/strong> provides free food grains to <strong>81.35 crore beneficiaries<\/strong> for five years, ensuring basic nutrition and affordability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support to Vulnerable Section:<\/strong> Free ration schemes protect low-income families from food insecurity, especially during economic downturns and crises.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative<\/strong> allows migrants to access food grains anywhere in India, improving accessibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Balancing Welfare and Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Targeted Welfare Programs: <\/strong>Instead of universal free ration, policies should focus on need-based distribution, ensuring that only the most vulnerable receive assistance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Diversification of Food Basket:<\/strong> Inclusion of millets, pulses, and oils can improve nutritional outcomes and support diverse farming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthening Employment Initiatives: <\/strong>Expanding skill development programs and entrepreneurship support can help beneficiaries transition from welfare dependence to self-sufficiency.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Encourage eligible and financially able families to voluntarily opt out of government subsidies, as was done under the <strong>Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fiscal Responsibility and Policy Reforms:<\/strong> The government must ensure efficient allocation of resources, balancing food security with economic growth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Periodic review of welfare schemes based on updated poverty data can improve effectiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free ration distribution in India is both a welfare imperative and a developmental dilemma. While it is indispensable in times of crisis and for vulnerable populations, its unmoderated continuation risks creating long-term inefficiencies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The real challenge is to integrate welfare into a developmental trajectory \u2014 where safety nets evolve into springboards for self-reliance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/easy-for-states-to-get-ration-from-centre-and-distribute-it-for-free-but-burden-is-on-taxpayers-sc\/article69511265.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, the Supreme Court of India has raised concerns over the free ration distribution system, questioning its long-term sustainability and impact on economic policies.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Development Perspective: Economic Sustainability<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Supreme Court\u2019s Concerns: It observed that while States procure food grains from the Centre and distribute them for free, the financial burdenultimately falls on taxpayers.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It questioned whether India, in 2025, is still grappling with the same poverty levels as in 2011, when the last Census was conducted.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-05-2025\/supreme-court-flags-concerns-over-free-ration-distribution\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42597","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\/42597","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42597"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42626,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42597\/revisions\/42626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}