Briefly explain India’s public distribution system (PDS). The so called ‘reforms’ of the public distribution system, initiated by many states, are actually causing disruptions to it and thus hurting millions of people. Discuss. (250 words)

Model Answer :
Approach:
  • Why in news?
  • Public Distribution System (PDS)
  • So-called reforms and disruptions caused by them
  • Conclusion
Why in news?
India’s public distribution system (PDS) is in danger of being derailed in several States across the country. Recent disruptions of the PDS have taken different forms, from compulsory biometric authentication to so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT). The consequences are alarming, but tend to go unreported.
Public Distribution System (PDS)
PDS is the distribution of essential commodities to a large number of people through a network of Fair Price Shops (FPS) also called ration shops at reasonable prices. It is a major instrument of Government economic policy –
  • for ensuring the availability of food grains to the public at affordable prices.
  • aimed towards poverty eradication.
  • for providing minimum nutritious diet to the people.
  • for enhancing the Food security for the poor.
India has a network of around 5 lakh Fair Price shops making its PDS the largest distribution network in the World.
So-called reforms and disruptions caused by them
Following are the so called ‘reforms’ of the PDS and consequent disruptions caused –
  1. Biometric mix-ups
  • Jharkhand government made Aadhaar-based biometric authentication compulsory for PDS users.
    • Large numbers of people, especially among vulnerable groups such as widows and the elderly (with rough fingerprints), found themselves excluded from the PDS.
    • Those who were still able to buy their food rations faced considerable inconvenience due to connectivity and biometric failures.
    • Worse, there was a revival of corruption, as PDS rice meant for those who failed the biometric test was siphoned off with abandon.

  • Jharkhand government mass-cancelled ration cards not linked with Aadhaar.
    • Many of the cancelled ration cards actually belonged to families that had been unable to link their card with Aadhaar for no fault of their own.

  • The monthly PDS rations of 5 kg per person were restricted to those whose individual names had been linked with Aadhaar in the ration-cards database.
    • The following sort of situation is now very common in rural Jharkhand: a family has five members, but only three are listed along with their Aadhaar number in the database, so the family ends up getting 15 kg of rice per month instead of 25 kg.

  1. Direct benefit transfer (DBT)
  • Under the DBT system, people have to collect their food subsidy in cash from the bankbefore using it to buy rice from the ration shop at Rs. 32 per kg. Until now, they were able to buy rice from the ration shop at Rs. 1 per kg.
    • People waste enormous time shuttling between the banks, pragya kendras (common service centres) and ration shops to get hold of their money and then use it to buy rice at the ration shop.
    • At every step, there are long queues, and for many people the bank or pragya kendra is also far away.
    • For people with mobility problems, like the elderly or disabled, this entire process is a nightmare.
  • Many families have several bank accounts, but apparently, they were not told where to look for their subsidy.
    • many people had to run from bank to bank to find out where their subsidy had been deposited. This is all the more difficult as the food subsidy is not always easy to distinguish from other bank credits.
Conclusion
Apart from Jharkhand, other states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have been facing such disruptions. These reforms have enormous potential to take the PDS towards perfection however governments and bureaucrats should first rectify various issues arising out of them instead of hurrying towards imposing Aadhaar-based biometric authentication or move towards DBT.

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