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The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution introduced the Food Security and Public Distribution System (PDS) in 1945 right before India’s Independence in 1945, and was put into effect from 1947. As per its concept, it is entrusted with the responsibility of managing the scarcity of food by establishing a proper distribution channel of major as well as minor food grains at cheaper rates. It emerges to be one of the largest programs of the Indian Government which helps the farmers in selling their monthly or yearly production at lucrative prices as well as provide the poor sections of the society with food grains at affordable prices.
Body: India happens to be the epicenter or home to a huge population of hungry as well as malnourished people. India is characterized by high mortality rates and diseases with certain nutritional deficiencies mixed with high poverty rates. In 2016, it was reported that nearly 195 million people were malnourished which was recorded to be the highest spike in any single country. The reasons behind this issue can be summarized into the following points:
Higher migration rates.
Concentrated availability of food grains in specifically urban lands.
Contribution changes of the agricultural sector towards the country’s GDP.
High variations in the climate of the country are characterized by uneven patterns of weather and droughts.
India ranks 101 among 116 nations on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) which indicates that one in three Indian children is undersized which represents one-third of the world’s undersized population. Looking at these issues, the Government of India established the PDS system. It was developed under the joint control of both the Central and the State Governments.
Aim:
Procurement and supply of food grains from the farmers at cheaper rates also known as the “Central Issue Price”.
Prevent issues like hunger and famine by surplus availability of food.
Equitable distribution of food products to the population.
Programs under Food Security:
- Public Distribution System (PDS).
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
- Mid-Day Meals Program (MDM).
The PDS system is considered to be the most crucial food safety measure introduced by the Government to date.
Benefits under PDS:
A Ration Card is a must for one to avail of the benefits of PDS.
Families below the poverty line (BPL) are supplied with 35kg of “Rice” or “Wheat” every month.
Families above the poverty line (APL) are supplied with 15kg of food grains every month
However, this has changed significantly after the National Food Security Act came into force which we will discuss later.
Public Distribution System commodities:
Rice.
Wheat.
Sugar.
Edible oils.
Kerosene.
Coarse grains such as Jowar, Bajra, Maize, etc.(Less than 1% share in PDS sales)
Pulses. (Less than 0.2% share in PDS sales)
Importance of Public Distribution System:
Ensures food security within the nation.
Affordable and cheaper rates of food grains for easy access.
Reallocation of food grains from regions of surplus availability of food grains to deficient regions.
The success of the Public Distribution System:
The PDS system proved to be a great player in modifying particularly two states which are Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Although the two states have indistinguishable demographic factors and developmental indicators, their nutrition levels are different. However, Chhattisgarh surpassed Jharkhand in terms of developments under the PDS system. Let’s compare them.
Chhattisgarh | Jharkhand |
• Comprehensive reforms were undertaken by the government.
• Massive demand for state by the strong congregation of its large tribal population.
• Strong pressure upon the ruling party generated by the competitiveness of the two national parties to look after the demands of the farmer population.
• Stabilization of tenures of elected representatives resulted in a quick profit supply. | • Reforms were uneven. • Lacked such movements. • Absence of unity among the internal parties and repeated ruptured political directions. • The government engaged in extensive profit-making by negatively influencing the policies. |
Procedure to strengthen PDS system:
To make the PDS system a powerful one, the Government of India launched the National Food Security Mission in the financial year 2007-08 which was then in the 11th year plan of the 5-Year planning process. It aimed at raising the production of food grains by 20 million tons.
Objectives:
- Expansion of areas for increasing and enhancing the productivity of necessary crops.
- Retaining the level of fertility and productivity in individual lands.
- Increase in the net income from farmlands.
Statistics:
2013-14: NFSM significantly increased to ₹2200 crore from ₹1800 crore.
2016-17: Production of food grains increased significantly by 25 million tons.
The mission would be implemented in nearly 27 states which include the North-Eastern as well as the hill states.
Crops:
Jute.
Cotton.
Sugarcane.
Aadhar enabled PDS system:
The Aadhar enabled PDS system is a process where every individual is entitled to obtain food grains at subsidized (cheaper rates) but this would require fulfillment of the requirement of possessing a ration card and it is an absolute must to go through the Aadhar Card authentication. Authentication is either biometric or OTP (One Time Password) based. It is a necessity for one to link Aadhar with their permanent account number also abbreviated as PAN.
This helps in easy access to the availability of benefits imposed by the government.
Conclusion:
During the spread of the pandemic I.e., COVID-19, PDS came to great advantage to the government as well as to the people of India. It increased the number of food grains in India to more than 85 crores between the period April – November 2020 which stands to be a significant contribution to the country. Thus, the PDS system transformed India into a better one with relevant prospects.
