PDS (Public Distribution System) India
India’s PDS supplies
subsidized food grains and other essential items commodities through a network
of ‘ration shops’. There are approximately 4,62,000 Fair Price Shops. About 160
million families purchase commodities from ration shops each year. The PDS is
enormous in terms of expenditure, reach and number of agencies involved in its
operation.
State governments issue ration
cards to their residents and decide on the quantity consumers are entitled to.
Many problems have plagued its
operation. PDS suffers from chronic management shortcomings, the extent and
timing of procurement, poor forecasting capacity and antiquated logistical
system to support storage and delivery functions, inappropriate product mix and
cost inefficiencies.
Many problems stem from
systematic corruption. 3.1% of food grains 36% of sugar gets diverted to the
Black Market through agents and middlemen. Buyers are made to sign that they
have bought 10 kgs when they have bought only 5 kgs. Corruption also plagues
the process of issuing ration cards.
Today the ration card is used
only by people who have no piped gas or cylinder gas. Kerosene is issued only
to non-users of gas for cooking. The ration card is a very useful identity card
whether rations are allowed or not.
The Government has revived the
long defunct PDS even for APL (Above Poverty Live) ration card holders.
Consumers however were
disappointed sugar (market price Rs. 35 per kg, ration price Rs. 20). One card
was entitled to 2 kgs was ok, but not so with wheat and dal. The market price
of tur dal was Rs. 90 kg, the PDS price is Rs. 55 per kg (1 kg per card). But consumers
complained it had other grains and chaff mixed in it and took a long time to
cook.
Wheat was full of stones and
insects. The rice supplied could not be cooked and palm oil was used not for
cooking but to light diyas.
The government claims to have spent
122 crores a month.
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