-Economic and Political Weekly   Chhattisgarh's public distribution system reforms have been lauded as a model for the National Food Security Act, and as one that other states can emulate. Previous research has shown that PDS rice consumption increased in Chhattisgarh following reforms by the Raman Singh government, which began in 2004. However, one-third of PDS rice consumption growth in Chhattisgarh took place before 2004. This finding suggests that the pre-2004 reforms...

A new report by National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) reveals that despite the nutritional value of millets, otherwise known as coarse cereals*, there has been a drastic reduction in the area under its cultivation from 36.34 million hectares in 1955-56 to 18.6 million hectares in 2011-12 thanks to the wrong agricultural and price policies adopted by the Government (see table 1, and the links below). Based on previous National...

-The Times of India The Planning Commission periodically revises the poverty line at the all-India and state levels based on large household expenditure surveys of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). These are typically once in five years. The figures of Rs 10.8 per capita per day in Gujarat's rural areas and Rs 16.7 in urban areas are based on the Planning Commission determined state-specific poverty line based on NSSO data for...

-The Business Standard Interview with Director General, Independent Evaluation Office, Planning Commission The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) was created at the Planning Commission in August 2013 to monitor the outcome and effectiveness of various social sector initiatives taken by the UPA government. It began with an evaluation of the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ajay Chhibber, Director General of the IEO, a former assistant secretary general of the UN Development Programme, tells Sanjeeb...

-The Hindu     Huge quantities of stock being routinely seized from middle-men Hyderabad: How much of food grain supplied under the Public Distribution System (PDS) is actually being consumed by white-card holders? Does the scheme truly satisfy its beneficiaries? While the answers are elusive, the fact remains that large quantities of stock are being sold illegally. Statistics provided by the Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E) Department show that huge quantities of stock are routinely being...