SparksInc .

(Apoorvaa, Aditi,

Anubha, Prachi, Sakshi)

PLUGGING THE LEAKS IN PDS -

INNOVATIONS TO SPARK THE CHANGE

Biggest in the world & yet riddled with the most

flaws - Problems with the current system

PDS – The "Aandata" Solution

Every state does not have a designated FCI godown

Most states have private wholesale delivery method of

cooperative wholesale dealer

No direct delivery to remote areas of most states

Lifting of stock is done by private transportation agencies

FPS is not viable at villages with population less than 500 due

to slack on the part of FPS owner& irregular inspection in

remote small areas

Transport charges are to be bared by FPS owners which in

turn is reflected in the cost of grains

Key posts like district controller, district inspector are vacant

in many districts especially tribal lands

Solution proposed – A Snapshot

New hierarchy of powers state to source food grains from within itself, partnership b/w 2 states for mutual exchange of commodities central ministry as a strict, guiding parent

Innovations to plug leakages & diversions IT Infrastructure

Local participation at grassroots level involvement of Gram Panchayats/Municapility, NGOs, State officials,

trained people sourced from the intended beneficiaries of the scheme

Centre approved framework to be followed strictly by each state, no privatization in any work

The Hierarchy of Offices

CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT

State

Department of

food and

Distribution

State department

of food and

Distribution

State Department

of food and

Distribution

District Supply

Officer’s Office District Supply

Officer’s Office

District Supply

Officer’s Office

Block Supply

Officer’s Office Block Supply

Officer’s Office

Distribution

Centre

Distribution

Centre

Distribution

Centre Distribution

Centre

Block Supply

Officer’s Office

1. Procurement

2. Distribution

3. Administrative distribution of responsibilities

4. Funding

Implementation of new PDS

1. Procurement & Storage

CENTRE

1.to maintain database of farmers from whom grains are procured – addition/deletion of profiles to be done on an

yearly basis

2.Minimum support price for the buying of food grains and other commodities to be fixed

scientifically by a panel of economists appointed by the Ministry, in conjunction with

other departments

FCI

1. to store only surplus food grains as stock for

preparedness against future national emergencies/disaster

relief programmes

2. to provide godowns as buffer zones for the use of partner States to store the

commodities to be exchanged

3. to have a store of carbon fibre structures that can be dismantled and transported

and set up in any open space, to store excess food grains

efficiently in the event of lack of storage space, wherever

needed.

STATES

1.to procure the quota of grains from the farmers within their states directly and store it

in the State-owned godown that is nearest to the site of

production/procurement of the grains

2. to procure required commodities which the State has a lack of from its partner

State, and store it in either FCI godowns or State level

godowns or DC godowns

2. Distribution

DISTRIBUTION CENTRE

No privatization -> members to include NGO + Gram

Panchayat members/Municipal members

+ State appointed official + trained members from the

local community A local building in the area

which the particular DC serves, to act as DC stock

godown Biometric system + smart cards + automatic teller

machines that open only at the swipe of the smart card & bio

print combinations & dole out specified quantity of ration

All transactions of incoming & outgoing rations at the DC to be

recorded into the centralized database

STATE FOR ITS OWN

Monitor the movement of food grains from

production sites to DC godown sites

Monitor and inspect the working of DCs.

PARTNERSHIP OF MUTUAL ADOPTION BETWEEN A PAIR OF

STATES

Source commodities which the State has a lack of, from its partner State

and send these to appropriate DCs.

3. Administrative distribution of

responsibilities

Distribution Centre

Supply of commodities to the consumers

Storage of food grains, as sent by the State transportation service

Running of awareness campaigns and manpower training

programmes for local people to involve them in the running of the

DC, by the associated NGO of that DC

Send fortnightly reports to the State Department

District Supply Officer’s Office

Have a separate official for looking into consumer complaints and

grieviences from the DCs that come under their district

Have a separate official that conducts fortnightly inspections at each

DC within their district; surprise inspections can happen anytime

Send fortnightly reports to the State Department

State Department of Food and Distribution

Procure food grains from farmers of own State and make transportation

arrangements to send these to each Distribution Centre godown in the State

Keep stringent checks on whether the DC Inspection officers and Consumer

Grievance Redressal officers maintain their schedules or not.

Maintain contact with the State Department of its partner state

Send monthly reports to the Ministry

Central governance

Ministry of Consumer Welfare, Food & Distribution

sanctions for finding the poverty line on the basis of National Census data( to be

revised every 10 years with each new census)

sanctions committee to fix minimum paying price to farmers from whom grain is

procured directly by their respective State governments, every 2 years – more

frequently in case of national emergency of some sort (eg: drought, flood, etc.)

Oversee the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding for mutual help

signed between partner states for exchange of commodities that one partner lacks

and one partner has surplus of.

4. Funding

1. Initially, the Centre will have to invest funds to create the software system for monitoring.

2. The leakages and diversions get plugged due to stringent monitoring and involvement of people at the grassroots, leading to atleast 10% of the total spending of around Rs. 7000 crore on PDS

3. The infrastructure proposed costs only Rs. 6000 per 300 sq. feet carbon fibre – dismantlable godown

4. The saving of surplus grains (60% of the annual produce) from rot in this way means that the country can engage in more export – leading to more revenue

5. The money so earned & saved can be invested in improving the system further and to implement the biometric system of identification

Impact of the solution

1. Due to involvement of local people at the grassroots, a better inventory can be kept of whether or not the genuine participants get their rightful quota

2. Due to elimination of a long hierarchy of storage & procurement, close to 10% of the Rs. 3014 crore spent on delays and transportation alone are saved

3. Better system of monitoring due to involvement of a centralised Database.

4. The two-fold objectives of PDS – up-liftment of farmers & reduction of under-nutrition and malnutrition in the country – have a better chance of being achieved.

Challenges & Risks

1. Opposition by the state government as it is losing its autonomy in

distribution

1. may find it unsuitable to negotiate with another state with

central govt. as the negotiator so they loose monopoly over

their crop produce

2. may find there powers reduced

2. Complete mechanization can be opposed on the basis of lack of

funds to protect their inherent problem of earning profits from the

money of the needy

3. Biggest menace of our nation corruption mechanization ensures no

leakage of items since at all levels a complete check is maintained.

For ex installation of grain ATMs & biometric identification

completely eliminates mixing & leakage at intermediate levels.

4. The system requires proper trained skilled people at all levels so

this training needs time & resources

Also includes our thanks to the people without

whom we could not have done this!

References

Because the problems are many & diverse but no problem is unsolvable.

Even the word “Impossible” says “I m Possible”

Every system has some commendable aspects & some loopholes.

People :

1. Dr. KC Tripathi, Asst Professor, IPEC, Ghaziabad

2. Mrs. Deepa Choudhary, Asst Professor, IPEC, ghaziabad

Papers/Web publications :

1. Wadhwa Committee Report on Public Distribution System in India

2. Performance Evaluation of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)

(Planning Commission 2005)

3. Asia Development Bank

4. LSE India Blog

Jai Hind!