The Public Distribution System in India
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/014473940002000203 |
| Author | M Chakraborty |
M Chakraborty/The Public Distribution System in India
THE PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN INDIA
M CHAKRABORTY
Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy
of
Administration
Introduction
The Public Distribution System (PDS) may be regarded
as
both an anti -
inflation and an anti-poverty measure.
It
is a system that attempts to soften the
hardships caused by inflation which lead to the erosion
of
purchasing power in
the hands, particularly,
of
fixed income groups or
of
those who, lacking
alternative suppliers, are forced to be price takers. The system helps to maintain
the real value
of
purchasing power in the hands
of
the poor and its impact has
been demonstrated to be as effective as other, more conventional, poverty
alleviation measures.
These days we lay stress
on
higher production in order that people get the things
they need at prices within their reach. In the welfare state, one
of
the main
duties
of
the state is
to
provide food security for its people. This is particularly
important in a country such as India which has a high population density with a
cropping pattern mostly dependent upon seasonal rainfall and with no assured
system
of
irrigation. Because
of
this the availability
of
food, and therefore its
price, fluctuates over time. To overcome this problem and to provide an assured
supply
of
essential commodities a public distribution system has been devised
and implemented.
PDS was first introduced as an operational mechanism for rationing in the wake
of
the Bengal famine
of
1943 and has now developed into a pennanent feature
of
the Indian strategy for controlling prices, reducing fluctuations in supply and
achieving an equitable distribution
of
essential consumer goods. Under the first
plan the PDS confmed itself to supplying the needs
of
urban areas and high
deficit rural areas using a system
of
statutory rationing. In the 1940s and 1950s
it was used initially as a rationing system to control the distribution
of
scarce
commodities; later it was used as a fair price system in competition with some
private traders who were believed to be exploitative. The major food items
within its remit were wheat and rice. These days the role
of
PDS has become
more important because
of
its involvement in production, procurement, logistics
and distribution through retail outlets. It acts as the main agency for handling
food grains on behalf
of
the central and state governments by procuring a
sizeable proportion
of
the marketed surpluses from farmers. In this way it is
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