Public Distribution System delivers subsidised food to more than 80 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act 2013. The government identifies critical challenges, including leakages, inclusion/exclusion errors, and storage issues. Recent reforms implement End-to-End Computerisation, One Nation One Ration Card, and Aadhaar seeding to boost transparency and accessibility.
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Picture Courtesy: THE HINDU
Instances of large-scale PDS rice smuggling, like the 261 arrests in Salem (Tamil Nadu) over seven months, highlight the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to ensure subsidized food reaches its intended beneficiaries and not the black market.
It is a social welfare program, distributing subsidized food grains and other essential commodities to vulnerable populations, by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
Key Objectives of the PDS System
Poverty Alleviation and Food Security: Provides food grains such as wheat, rice at affordable prices, addresses hunger and malnutrition among low-income groups.
Price Stabilization: Regulate market prices of essential commodities, curbing inflation, hoarding, and black marketing.
Nutritional Security: Programs like the "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)" provided additional free food.
Social Equity: Prioritizes marginalized communities, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and women-headed households, promoting social justice.
Wartime Origins (1940s) and Early Post-Independence (1950s): British introduced food rationing during World War II. Post-independence, reintroduced in 1950 due to inflationary pressures, to stabilize prices and manage food shortages.
Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s: Following the Green Revolution, government established the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in 1965 and the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to manage procurement and storage.
Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) 1992: Strengthen PDS by improving its reach in remote and inaccessible areas.
Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)1997: Converting PDS from a universal scheme to a targeted one, focusing on Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) households.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) 2000: Specifically targeted the "poorest of the poor" within BPL families. It initially provided 25 kg (later 35 kg) of grains per family per month at highly subsidized rates (₹2/kg for wheat, ₹3/kg for rice).
National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013: Transforms food assistance into a legal entitlement.
Lakdawala Committee (1993-94): Provided the initial state-wise poverty estimates that guided beneficiary identification under TPDS.
Planning Commission's Performance Evaluation of Targeted Public Distribution System (2005): Revealed that 57% of grains did not reach intended beneficiaries, mentioning "ghost cards" and diversion as major issues, also highlighted that only 39% of FPS generated a positive net income, indicating viability problems.
Justice Wadhwa Committee Report for PDS (2011): Advocated for computerization to prevent diversion and ensure accurate identification at ration shops, also recommended the inclusion of fortified grains within the PDS scheme.
Shanta Kumar Committee (2015): Focused on FCI reforms, reported 46% leakage in PDS grains in 2011-12. It recommended:
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People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs Union of India (2001): The Supreme Court declared the "right to food" an essential component of the "right to life" under Article 21 of the Constitution. |
Leakage and Diversion: A 2024 Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) report highlighted a 28% leakage rate in PDS, representing an annual loss of around 20 million tonnes of rice and wheat and an economic loss of ₹69,108 crore.
Inaccurate Beneficiary Identification: PDS continues to struggle with inclusion and exclusion errors, efforts are ongoing to update beneficiary lists.
Poor Quality of Grains: Beneficiaries report receiving low-quality food grains through fair price shops, due to corrupt dealers replacing good quality FCI stock with cheaper alternatives for black marketing.
Non-Viability of Fair Price Shops (FPSs): Low commission rate to FPS dealers remains a concern. Many FPS owners find it difficult to sustain their businesses, contributing to operational irregularities.
Inadequate Storage Capacity: Total covered storage capacity available with the FCI and state agencies was 806.94 Lakh Metric Tonnes as of February 1, 2025. Storage capacity has not expanded sufficiently to match procurement growth, leading to dependence on open storage.
Logistical and Infrastructure Gaps: FPS owners continue to face issues with electricity and internet access for e-PoS machines, leading to distribution delays.
Technical Challenges with Aadhaar-based Biometric Authentication (ABBA): Despite high rates of Aadhaar seeding (99.3%) and e-PoS installations (99.6%) as of March 2025, ABBA still faces issues. Biometric failures, poor internet connectivity, and server issues lead to exclusion errors, with a Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report in July 2025 highlighting high failure rates as a serious concern.
Limited Nutritional Diversity: PDS largely distribute wheat and rice, ignoring broader nutritional needs. A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution recommended including millets into the PDS to promote nutritional diversity.
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 Implementation provides a legal framework, expanding coverage and standardizing entitlements and prices.
End-to-End Computerization to digitizes beneficiary databases, automates Fair Price Shops (FPS), and computerizes the entire supply chain.
Aadhaar Integration (Aadhaar-seeding and eKYC) to link ration cards with Aadhaar to eliminate ineligible, fake, and duplicate beneficiaries. Removal of 5.8 crore fake ration cards from the PDS (2024, Union Food Ministry)
Electronic Point of Sale (e-PoS) Devices at FPS for biometric authentication of beneficiaries via Aadhaar and digitally records transactions, to ensure transparent distribution of grains.
One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) Scheme facilitates inter-state portability of ration cards, enabling beneficiaries, particularly migrant workers, to access their PDS entitlements from any FPS across India.
GPS and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the supply chain for real-time monitoring of food grain movement from FCI depots to state godowns and FPS, preventing diversion.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided an additional 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg of pulses per family free of cost to NFSA cardholders, , currently extended to December 2028.
Government to include fortifying rice distributed through PDS to address prevalent nutritional deficiencies.
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Initiatives Taken By State Governments To Improve PDS Chhattisgarh Model: Chhattisgarh implemented comprehensive PDS reforms in the mid-2000s, reducing diversion from 50% in 2004-05 to approximately 10% by 2009-10.
Tamil Nadu's Universal PDS: Tamil Nadu operates a near-universal PDS, providing 20 kg of rice free of cost to almost every household monthly, eliminates exclusion errors, also distributes various commodities, including pulses, edible oil, and millets. Kerala: Kerala automatically included all SC, ST, fisherperson households, and destitute persons, and agricultural and traditional industrial worker households, for subsidized grains, regardless of their APL/BPL status. |
Improve Beneficiary Identification: Utilizing real-time socio-economic data to adjust beneficiary lists. Conduct annual reviews of beneficiary lists to eliminate fraudulent entries and update household status.
Strengthening Technological Integration: Invest in reliable power supply and internet connectivity at FPS, explore alternative sources like solar power, subsidize infrastructure costs for FPS dealers.
Improving Service Delivery and Grievance Redressal: Implement training programs for PDS and FPS staff to enhance their technical skills, data management capabilities, and empathetic customer service.
Ensuring Viability of FPS: Increase the commission rates for FPS dealers or introduce a fixed monthly salary to reduce the incentive for corruption.
Diversification of Food Basket: Expand the PDS basket to include pulses, edible oils, and millets to address malnutrition and promote dietary diversity.
Community Involvement and Decentralization: Involve Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and local community organizations in the management and monitoring of FPS, to enhance accountability and transparency at the grassroots level.
What India Can Learn From Other Countries
Public Distribution System (PDS), strengthened by the National Food Security Act 2013 and technological adoption like Aadhaar and "One Nation, One Ration Card", however, it must address beneficiary identification, FPS viability, infrastructure gaps, and nutritional diversity through ongoing reforms, learning from state-level successes, and exploring global best practices for a truly comprehensive, citizen-centric food and nutrition security system
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For Mains: Public Distribution System (PDS) l Food Security Act and the Public Distribution System l FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA l National Food Security Act (NFSA) |
Source: THE HINDU
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Critically analyze the challenges facing the Public Distribution System and suggest concrete reform measures to make it more effective and transparent. 250 words |
The PDS distributes essential food grains and non-food items at highly subsidized prices to vulnerable sections of society, ensuring food security.
The FCI is the central agency responsible for procuring food grains from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP), storing them in buffer stocks, and transporting them to various states for distribution.
A 'ghost beneficiary' is a fake or duplicate ration card holder who exists only on paper, lead to the diversion of subsidized food grains and financial leakage.
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