Faced with acute shortage in supply of foodgrain in the public distribution system (PDS), all fair price shop owners in the state have decided to down their shutters from September 20 for an indefinite period. Three year ago, ration shops were gutted and many dealers had to go underground after food riots due to shortage. Surprisingly, minister of food & supplies Paresh Adhikari appeared to be unaware of the situation. “We...

The much-acclaimed public distribution system (PDS) of Kerala has lost its scope and acceptance due to diminished allotment of cereals and repeated reductions in coverage. Experts admit that prior to the introduction of targeting, Kerala had one of the best run and most effective PDS networks in India and a model system worth emulating by the other states in the country. Kerala was the only state in India with near-universal coverage...

Centre to notify revised poverty estimates to States soon The Union government will soon notify the revised poverty estimates on the basis of which States can undertake proper identification of beneficiaries under the public distribution system (PDS). This will include a massive exercise to include eligible beneficiaries and weed out the ineligible ones through use of biometric technology, which will replace the manual system of identification. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh...

The two-day Centre-state meet on revamping the public distribution system (PDS), with an eye to the likely enactment of the National Food Security Law, has harped on the same measures that have been talked about for long. These include the computerisation of PDS operations, timely delivery of stocks to PDS outlets, and proper identification of the beneficiaries, especially those entitled to the below-poverty-line (BPL) cards, based on the latest poverty...

The 1,600 families in Haryana’s Panchkula district which line up at fair price shops for foodgrains and kerosene can do away with their prized ration cards, pieces of paper that entitle the poor to subsidized food and fuel. Beginning Tuesday, while they still have to queue up, these families will receive their rations after a biometric identification using smart cards. That’s a small beginning for an ambitious Rs138 crore Centrally funded project...