India’s public distribution system has limited benefits due to huge leakage and wastage, World Bank said on Tuesday. It also recommended cash transfer as an alternative to provide subsidised food for the poor. “No country in the world has a well-functioning PDS system. India is no exception,” World Bank said in its report Social Protection for a changing India that was launched here Tuesday. “The public distribution system continues to absorb substantial...

A World Bank review of India’s social sector programmes has suggested a smaller public distribution system with more cash transfer, reworking of NREGA as a public works programme for urban areas and finally, a social security package including health care for those without regular employment. The report titled ‘Social Protection for a Changing India’, was commissioned by the Planning Commission. The bank said the three-pillar approach should be combined with social...

Blames FCI’s internal bureaucracy for resisting reforms Much to the dismay of several NGOs that want strengthening of the public distribution system (PDS) in India, the World Bank in its latest report has favoured cash transfers. “In the medium to long term, the report recommends offering households the option of a cash transfer while continuing food-based support for specific situations…,” the bank said in the report titled ‘Social Protection for a Changing...

The World Bank has backed a controversial proposal to replace foodgrain allotment under the public distribution system with a system of direct cash transfer. The bank, which supports social security schemes in India, today said poverty reduction had been low and overall returns on spending to eradicate poverty had “not reached their full potential”. It attributed the low reduction to “high leakage” in the PDS system and its weak implementation mechanism. Earlier,...

-The Hindustan   If you wish to investigate the proceedings of any redevelopment project but find it difficult due to the unavailability of City Survey number (CS no.), you can find the information with the mere click of a mouse. A few Right To Information (RTI) activists have acquired detailed reports of 1,365 redevelopment projects from the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) and the civic building proposal department. The information is...