Thirty-year-old Santa Meena, a tribal woman of Saru panchayat is probably unaware that a panel headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Manmohan Singh-led government are struggling to arrive at the quantity of grain that BPL families should get under the Public Distribution System. All this mother of five knows is that she has to trudge 10 km from her hamlet to the ration shop in Saru (10 km from...

Irregularities in the public distribution system (PDS) are rampant in the district due to lack of an effective vigilant mechanism. Fair price shop dealers, who are allegedly having nexus with politicians and bureaucrats, are diverting essential commodities to the black market. There are 2,600 fair price shops across the district and about 11 lakh poor families benefit with these. The vigilance and enforcement officials conducted several raids and unearthed illegally hoarded subsidised rations...

India's Public Distribution System (PDS) has been in a bad shape for decades, often thought to be beyond repair. Recent experience, however, suggests otherwise. Political will, increased transparency and community participation have led to an amazing revival of the PDS in Chhattisgarh though the state has only shown contempt for people's rights in other contexts… Somehow, the PDS became a political priority in Chhattisgarh and a decision was made to turn...

The state government has decided to bring two lakh nomadic Gujjar and Bakerwal families in Jammu and Kashmir under the Public Distribution System (PDS). “Temporary ration cards will be issued to the nomadic Gujars and Bakerwals so that they could get ration while migrating from one place to another without any difficulty,” Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Qamar Ali Akhoon told Greater Kashmir on Sunday. He said that...

Ten persons, including two Deputy Directors, have been arrested in connection with two scams in the Public Distribution Scheme in Kishtwar and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, sources said on Tuesday. The Crime Branch of Police conducted raids at the premises of the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) department in Srinagar, Anantnag and Jammu on Monday and arrested the four accused officials in connection with misappropriation of food grains...