scholarly journals An Empirical Analysis on Food Subsidy in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-126
Author(s):  
V Krishnakumar

The Public Distribution system is India’s largest poverty alleviation programme and it is mainly depends with the subsidy given by the government of India. The subsidy is provided to Food Corporation of India, which is the main instrument of the Government of India for procurement and distribution of wheat and rice under Targeted Public Distribution System and other welfare schemes and for maintaining the buffer stock of food grains as a measure of  food security. This paper makes critical review on the flow of food subsidy given by the Government of India to the Food Corporation of India and how strengthens the poverty alleviation programme by using Government subsidy.

This paper proposes a novel application for automating the Public Distribution System. The Government of India supplies essential commodities for everyday use like food grains (rice, wheat), kerosene (fuel for cooking) etc. to a large number of people by an elaborate machinery called Public Distribution System (PDS). This system currently works on manual processes. In this work, it is proposed that Smart Automated Ration Disbursal System (SARDS) using IoT replace the manual processes in PDS. This system consists of Embedded Controllers for online biometric authentication of the consumer, smart measuring for accurate disbursal of the commodities and real-time updating of data on the server. A prototype system to demonstrate its working is built using Arduino and Raspberry Pi controllers. An automatic dispensing system for solid as well as liquid commodity is fabricated and interfaced with the controllers using solenoid valves and sensors. Robust feedback is built into the system using sensors for accurate disbursal of material and detection of theft. Finally, experimental results showing accuracy of delivery of material and time required to process one consumer request are tabulated and analyzed. This system, when deployed in actual field, is expected to be operational 24x7 and ensure safe, secure, fast and corruption-free distribution of Ration commodities to the general public


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Bandana Sen ◽  
Aloke Kar

The present study provides a snapshot of the level of degradation of economic and living conditions of middle-class households of Kolkata and its neighbourhood during ‘lockdown’. It is based on an on-line survey of households of students of five purposively-selected colleges carried out during the second half of May 2020. The survey reveals that inflow of regular normal income had ceased altogether for over 40% of the sample households. About 15% of the households suffered from outright job loss or complete denial or withholding of wages and salaries payments of their members in paid employment and another about 27% reported complete closure of small businesses run by them. The normal-times income had altogether ceased for over a half of the households of the lowest income group. Predictably, the worst hit group was the wage labourers. Over four-fifths households with their prime earning member in wage employment reported job and earnings related problems, with over a fourth reporting job losses. Households with self-employed prime earners too were severely affected, with about three-fourths of them reporting such problems. Even the households with regular-salaried prime earners were badly hit. About a half of them reported job and earnings related problems. The results suggest that food grains distribution through the Public Distribution System (PDS) played a decisive role in averting an imminent famine-like situation. About 60% of the sample households were found to have procured food stuff from the PDS. Among the wage-labourers’ households, well over 80% reported dependence on the PDS, with ostensibly a large proportion of them receiving food altogether free. Despite free food grains distribution, about 5% of the sample households could not arrange three meals a day for all its members.


Author(s):  
Snehal S. Golait ◽  
Lutika Kolhe ◽  
Snehal Rahangdale ◽  
Anjali Godghate ◽  
Prajakta Sonkusare ◽  
...  

The Public Distribution System in India is the largest retail system in the world. Major problem in this system are the inefficiency in the targeting of beneficiaries, improve weighing machines used an illegal selling of goods. Automated public ration distributed system aim to replace the manual work in Public Distribution System there by reducing the corruption an illegal selling of stock. This paper gives the review on the E- Ration card system to distribute the grains automatically. The proposed system is used the conventional ration card which is replaced by smart card by using RIFD card. The RFID card redirect to the web of the shop , the required item are selected and payment is done and then item are collected from the machine. In this system, the government has control overall transaction that occurs in the ration shop and all the stock records are updated to the government databases so as to refill the stock with material thereby reducing the corruption.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Landy

The Indian public distribution system operates like a huge machine transferring food grains procured by the federal government from surplus regions at a guaranteed price towards deficit areas where grains are sold at subsidized prices to poor households. The role of India’s regional States has become more significant in recent years with ‘decentralized procurement’. However, the national state has not become a minor actor, sandwiched between the globalization of food flows and decentralization policies. A process of state spatial rescaling is indeed taking place, although limited in scope and uneven across space. Before the 1990s, despite the uncontested power of the central state, sizeable differentiation already existed between States or ‘food zones’, in procurement as well as distribution. Recent rescaling of the policy has given States greater scope for policy innovation, via a ‘territorialization’ process. Nevertheless, despite significant rescaling to the subnational scale and the importance of ‘localization’ and ‘globalization’ trends, the national scale maintains a prominent position in the overall policy framework.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-429
Author(s):  
P Prabhakaran ◽  
Amarjeet Singh ◽  
Sachin Kumar ◽  
Yatendra Jain ◽  
Vishwajeet Haldar

A study on the efficiency of procurement of food grains from farmers on quality norms was carried out in the state of Punjab. The survey involves collection of foodgrains viz., wheat and paddy from farmers in mandies/procurement centres from 2008 to 2016. The samples of paddy were analysed for their quality parameters in respect of content of various refractions such as, foreign matter, damaged grains, discoloured, shrunken, shrivelled, weevilled, immature grains and moisture. In paddy and wheat, the analysis results revealed the extent of its quality in which the refractions content of paddy and wheat were observed to lie within the quality specifications formulated by the Government of India (GOI)for their procurement during Kharif and Rabi marketing season to supply to the consumers through Public Distribution System (PDS) and other welfare schemes.


Author(s):  
Alok Kumar Sahoo ◽  
D. K. Krishna ◽  
N. V. Kumbhare

Public Distribution System (PDS) started from 1997 for providing essential commodities like rice, wheat, sugar etc. to a large number of people through a network of 5.35 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) on a recurring basis at a subsidized price to boost food and nutritional security in India. Whether the PDS is effective to reach targeted people is under serious concern. The problem arises as supply exceeds demand at Minimum Support Price (MSP) of food grains. Over the last 7 years, the average procurement of food grains (rice and wheat) has been around 25 per cent of production. The rising MSP of foodgrains during the last 7 years which enhances the chance of increased subsidy amount given by government resulting increased quantity of food grains procurement and inflation in input prices at constant Central Issue Prices (CIP). Gulati and Saini [1] evaluated under various studies- since 1999-2000 to 2011-12 which narrates about rising leakages of food grains from 9 per cent in 1999-2000 to 36 per cent in 2011-12. In terms of absolute quantity of grains pilfered, of the total quantity of 25.91 MMT pilfered, UP stands at the top with almost 4 MMT (15.3%) pilfered from PDS in 2011-12. There are 39.6 per cent poor having ration cards and 60.4 per cent poor having no cards. There are 26.3 per cent non-poor having ration cards causing inclusion error. The exclusion error is severe as a Type-II error causing 70.5 per cent total in India. There are many loopholes in PDS, leading to ineffectiveness and inefficiency in achieving its objectives. It needs reforms like the transparent selection of beneficiaries, universalization, end to end computerization, more commodities to be included, an effective grievance redressal agency, ADHAAR based PDS, the inclusion of innovative schemes like food coupon, smart card etc. More or less, the innovative mechanism in PDS has to be assessed before implementation to enhance effectiveness and check further error.


Author(s):  
Ashok Kotwal ◽  
Bharat Ramaswami

This article begins by tracing the development of the Indian model of food distribution. Food subsidies in India are delivered through the public distribution system, consisting of a network of retail outlets through which the government sells grain. The discussions then turn to the outcomes and the performance of the distribution system, food security legislation, the rights approach to food security, debates over food security legislation, lessons from social assistance programs across the world, and political opposition to cash transfers.


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