-The Indian Express The finance minister plans to scrap the supply of subsidised kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS) and high time, too. To begin with, why has the kerosene subsidy needed reform for decades and yet reform never materialised? Kerosene obtained through the PDS, being cheaper, is used to adulterate diesel and petrol. Kerosene leakages in the PDS are estimated to be 40 per cent of total allocations. The diversion...
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Food Corporation to implement major recommendations of high-level panel -Madhvi Sally
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: In a major boost to reforms in food procurement and distribution, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has assured the government it will be able to implement major recommendations of the high-level panel that has recommended a complete revamp of the body that plays a key role in the country's food security. The panel has made path-breaking recommendations such as direct Cash transfer for fertilizers and grains...
More »Just how leaky is the PDS? -Rukmini S
-The Hindu Why do we not have a clear answer on just how much grain is leaking out of the Public Distribution System? If you're interested in just what ‘leakage' means and how it's worked out, here's a little primer. So first: what is leakage? Since we know anecdotally that many households do not get all the grain they are entitled to, we can assume some is being illegally diverted. It's...
More »Rural reach -Amita Sharma
-Financial Chronicle From the inner recesses of Chattisgarh to the upper crevices of Sikkim, a look at how MGNREGA initiatives are changing lives The large blackboard outside the police station reads like a rate list. There are different monetary awards for Naxalites' surrender with different weaponry, the highest, Rs 4.5 lakh, for surrender with a light machine gun, Rs 3 lakh with an AK 47, and only Rs 30,000 with a 12...
More »If it’s not Bihar, it’ll be UP
-The Financial Express With the High Level Committee (HLC) on restructuring FCI pointing to a 47% leakage in the 55 million tonnes of grain distributed through ration shops, the only viable solution is to shut down the PDS as the HLC has recommended be done over a period of time. Not surprisingly, many have argued that, in states that have restructured their ration shop operations-such as Chhattisgarh-there has been a dramatic...
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