1. PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN
INDIA
Its about time that poor people are subsidized
and their basic needs are fulfilled.
Krushna Bhala
Piyush Arora
Smriti Saini
Aman Jain
Garima Sachdeva
2. Majority of the population of India are suffering
from malnutrition due to following reasons
Everyone below poverty line does not have a ration card due to
lack of knowledge of facilities that are provided by government.
The basic necessities given doesn’t reach majority of the people and
usually the food delivered is of poor quality.
The system lacks transparency and accountability which makes it
unreliable.
The food produced in India is adequate for the entire population
but however due to poor transportation facilities it doesn’t tend to
reach the remote areas.
Lack of storage facilities means that food produced gets rotten
within a certain time period so the durability is low.
The organizations like Vigilance Committee, Anti-Hoarding Cells
which are basically responsible for ensuring the efficiency of public
distribution system are not getting their act together.
The appointment of dealers at fair price ration shops is a major
issue as not many people want to work at such a lower wage and
uncomfortable atmosphere.
The corrupt officials which are usually middlemen in the distribution
system usually take half the supplies available instead of delivering
it to the poor.
3. Solutions
Invest in the infrastructure sector so that weather is not to be relied upon for producing high
quality food.
The government agencies should conduct awareness programs in remote areas so that
everyone knows about the facilities offered by government.
The people appointed in the agencies should be retired officers or well respected people who
are highly trusted to not make the system more corrupt.
It is not good enough to subsidize for food only but the workers in the fair price shops should
be given enough pay to motivate them to work harder on their jobs.
Bigger trucks should be manufactured specially for carrying the food in large quantities and
distributing it in different parts of the countries.
The government agencies should keep a record of various items distributed at various prices in
different regions of the country and an independent auditor should be appointed to verify the
records of the agencies and the same should be reported to higher authority .
Technology and innovations should be taken from the private sector to improve the methods of
planting and boost the agricultural sector.
The farmers should be trained properly and should be able to adapt to new and advanced
methods of farming so that output can increase at an efficient rate.
4. Improving storage system
The government needs to set up godowns which need to have moderate conditions for the
crops like wheat to be Stored
•The godowns must have dehumiditifiers so that the moisture doesn’t get into the crops such as
wheat and the durability of the crop increases.
•The godowns should be frequently sprayed with pesticides so that the crop doesn’t get eaten
up by unwanted species like rats, mosquitoes or flies.
•The temperature of the godown needs to be maintained by having large heaters or air
conditioners depending upon the crop that is to be stored so that crop doesn’t rot easily.
The government should take care of the packing that’s used to store the crops.
•The crops like rice which is stored in jute bags should be further wrapped in plastic bags and
between these two mediums a layer of phosphine and carbon dioxide should be present to
improve the durability of the crop.
•The raw meat should be wrapped in plastic and kept in refrigerated conditions rather than
room temperature so that it doesn’t get rotten by the bacteria.
• Using plastic bottles rather than glass bottles for storing water and other drinks so that there
is less chance of spillage if bottles are mishandled during transportation.
5. Implementation
The godowns will be covered with a roof on top to protect it from rain.
There are going to be dehumiditifiers which are going to be placed on the roofs so
that the entire crops are prevented from moisture.
The godowns will be divided into certain sections and each section will have
different crops with suitable conditions.
There are going to be electrical utility vehicles that are going to be used for
loading and unloading the crops.
Crops are going to be clearly labeled to avoid any confusion.
Before any crops are unloaded from the warehouse , records of the same are going
to be maintained electronically.
The workers are going to unload the crops using the utility vehicles which are going
to go through the scanner which will automatically update how much stock is taken
out. The administrator will then make a separate record as a hard copy for further
reference.
The funds for setting up godowns can be raised from the tax revenue , financial
institutions or some sort of donation campaigns should be set up and the money
raised should be spent on the infrastructure for storage of various crops.
6. Impact
Closed warehouses or godowns will ensure that
crops like wheat doesn’t get washed away by rain
which happens frequently at the moment.
Wrapping the jute bags with plastic bags will
prevent moisture from entering into the bags.
The crops will last for longer periods and there will
be less wastage.
Problems
•The cost of warehousing is going to be extremely high.
•There are going to be lots of legal troubles regarding the property rights
when acquiring land for the godowns to be built.
•Its going to be difficult to get the builder to implement the design of the
warehouse.
7. No corruption
Digitising the administration of the public distribution
system.
We have to do away with the BPL cards for allotment
of ration under PDS. New digital based cards like
Aadhar cards for poor people should be introduced on
the basis of which they will be alloted the ration. While
alloting the cards, fingerprints and eye marks should be
taken into account of each individual so that the
chances of corruption are minimised. Whenever ration
is credited to a person’s account, his digital account co-
related to his card should be marked with his monthly
consumption .
8. Implementation
Before any bpl cards are allotted one needs to produce a document to the
government official showing his monthly income. They need to get this document
from their employers so that the bpl cards can be issued.
While issuing the bpl cards, all the details of the person is to be recorded including
photographs, date of birth, age etc. A retina scan is going to be conducted and that
record is going to be kept in the system electronically.
When the ration is credited to an individual’s account his retina is going to be
scanned again and records are going to be matched. A record will be mantained
stating the quantity of certain types of crops issued to individuals and there is less
chance of corruption as one has to go through an eye scan before any ration is
issued to him.
In case any frauds occur then strict penalties must be introduced under the law so
that one doesn’t misuse the distribution system.
This procedure of issuing bpl cards is going to be carried out in government offices
located in different localities. The ration will be delivered immediately into people’s
houses or areas which they live in after they obtain the bpl cards and go through
retina scans.
9. Impact
With strict penalties introduced people will fear the
law and think twice before committing any crime or
any fraud.
Retina scans will ensure safety against corruption as
one can only get ration if goes through a retina
scan and cannot get more ration than he deserves
as records are automatically updated.
Direct delivery will ensure that poor people don’t
have to roam around too much to get their food.
10. Problems
The employers might not give the supporting
document to their workers as they might not want
them to reap the benefits given by government.
The electronic records maintained at government
offices might be tampered with by the officials
themselves.
The ration might be delivered but without keeping
any records.
