Tehelka gives a great analysis of the challenges of India's Public Distribution System (PDS). Despite the many criticisms of this system (and they will come up in this blog), it still amazes me every time I think of the shear scale of this system that it actually works. The PDS system is the largest food distrubution scheme in the world, serving more than 320million people - more people than the whole the US.
Even with its problems, the PDS system is crucial for many of the families that I've come in contact with. It tides many families over through hard times and cushions the blows of bad crops or sickness.
That said, the system does clearly need an overhaul. I've met countless poor families with malnourished children who don't have ration cards. I've seen PDS shops that never open. I've seen PDS rations being sold on local store shelves. There are set quotas of 28kg, regardless of family size. Spandan, an NGO in Khandwa, MP, has calculated based on surveys with hundreds of families, that the 28kg rations given to a once a month family usually only feeds the family for a fortnight.
More strigent accountability structures are needed. Rations should be doubled or tripled, especially for tribal families. PDS shops should be well-stocked and open everyday to increase accessibility to families like those outlined in this story. PDS should also include essential nutritrients like vitamins and fruits and vedgetables. And we must recognized that while PDS is an important social safety net, it is not a cure for malnutrition. Other social systems are neccessary to make sure there is education given to communities to prevent malnutrition and that services for identification and treatment of malnutrition are easily accessible
While corruption and logistical problems abound in the PDS scheme, I think its right that Tehelka and civil society approach any type of cash transfer scheme with caution. Cash disappears easily - either to government pockets or the hands of debt collectors. I agree with Biraj Patnaik, who "says replacing the PDS with cash transfers is like “throwing the baby out with the bathwater""
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