To strengthen public distribution system, Rajasthan government has authorised elected public representatives to conduct inspection of Public Distribution System (PDS) shops. "We have given the right of inspection to elected public representatives. They will be allowed to see accounts, functioning of distribution, Ration Cards. District Collectors and District Supply Officers will also help them," State Food and Civil Supply Minister Babu Lal Naagar said here today. "This is an initiative to strengthen...

Mohali is slated to become one of the first districts in the country where preparations for issuing Unique Identification Numbers (UID) are scheduled to commence from February 15. District administration officials said that once the process of compiling data is commenced from the middle of this month, it would take at least four months for the disbursal of the 12-digit UID to residents of the district to start and would be...

The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on welfare programmes. To begin with, it wants to end the public distribution system of food grain and give money directly to the people. Its logic: the new system of cash transfer will plug leakages and save an enormous amount of money. But is it...

Thiruvoipati Nandakumar How is better delivery expected by allocating more foodgrains, when the system is not equipped to handle even the current level of allocation? The debate about the proposed national food security act seems to be centred on the magnitude of the allocation of food grains. But the issue is far beyond only foodgrains. It is about improving health, sanitation and nutrition standards so that India’s human development goals can be...

The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...