Government wants to plug leakages in PDS
- The government aims to plug loopholes in the Public Distribution System (PDS) before it implements the ambitious National Food Security Bill and has asked states to complete the process of computerization of data of beneficiaries by October 2012
- The proposed bill aims to provide legal right to low-priced food grain to 63.5 % of the population.
- States are advised to complete digitization of the Supply Management System by 2013 and connect all the Fair Price Shops (FPS) online by 2014
- Around 180 million households – 65 million BPL and 115 million APL households – avail subsidized rations under the PDS through the FPS
- Planning Commission study showed that in 2005 about 58 % of the subsidized food grains released from the central stock did not reach the BPL families because of identification errors, non-transparent operation and unethical practices in the implementation of the PDS.
- Computerization of the PDS will be done on a cost-sharing basis in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17)
- Digitization of PDS beneficiary database has been completed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Chandigarh
- To utilize the experience of the United Nations World Food Programme(UNWFP), the food ministry has signed an MoU with the UNWFP for development and implementation of additional PDS pilot projects in Rayagada district of Odisha
- A team, formed by Food Ministry, is supervising implementation of the information technology infrastructure for digitization of the PDS network
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Month: Current Affairs - June, 2012