BackGovt plans fresh study of PDS before food security Bill rollout
The government seeks to plug loopholes in the public distribution system first
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New Delhi: Keen to accelerate the rolling out of its ambitious food security programme, the government has sought a fresh assessment of the public distribution system (PDS) to enable it to plug loopholes in it, according to two people familiar with the matter.
With the Planning Commission indicating that the newly formed Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) could take at least two years to complete a study, the ministry is considering appointing an independent panel to study the system and submit a report within six months.
The Congress party-led government’s national food security Bill was cleared in Parliament in the monsoon session; it promises to provide foodgrains to 67% of India’s 1.2 billion population at subsidized rates.
The scheme, already launched in Congress-ruled states including Delhi and Haryana, is expected to be rolled out across the country within a year.
The law is considered a vote-catcher for the UPA government, which has been facing severe criticism for corruption scandals against its leaders, its failure to contain inflation and for the poor state of the economy. The country is scheduled to elect a new government in 2014.
To ensure effective implementation of the scheme, the food ministry approached the Planning Commission to make an evaluation of the functioning of the existing PDS.
“The minister (K.V. Thomas) wanted an assessment on the state of PDS, major stumbling blocks and limiting factors which could tamper or delay the process of implementation," said one of the people cited above, a top food ministry official.
Another official in the Plan panel confirmed that the food ministry has approached it for an evaluation of the PDS.
Food ministry officials had two rounds of discussions with the Ajay Chhibber-led independent evaluation office that began work in August. But the Planning Commission indicated that it would take at least two years for the IEO to complete an assessment.
Chhibber said on 12 August that the first task of the arms-length evaluator will be to study the PDS.
An official at the IEO, however, said given that the office is yet to begin functioning, it will take time for the evaluator to begin actual work on designing a study and appointing agencies to assess the PDS.
The ministry is now contemplating forming an independent committee to do the evaluation and submit a report within two-four months.
“There are many suggestions. Independent names like (former agriculture secretary) T. Nanda Kumar and Jean Dreze are being considered, but no final decision has been taken," the food ministry official said.
Nanda Kumar was secretary, department of agriculture and cooperation, and is now a member of the National Disaster Management Authority. Development economist Jean Dreze was a member of the National Advisory Council that recommended and drafted an early food security law.
The Planning Commission had last evaluated targeted PDS in 2005. A more recent study will certainly help in improving delivery, said N.C. Saxena, member of the National Advisory Council. “Two to four months is a reasonable period as there is already some data available which shows that PDS is working well in some states and not so well in others," Saxena said.
The food security Bill, which is awaiting Presidential approval, seeks to provide 5kg of rice, wheat and coarse grains to beneficiaries at ₹ 3, ₹ 2 and ₹ 1 a kg, respectively.
While moving the Bill in Parliament, Thomas had said that leakages in the PDS could be a stumbling block for the effective implementation of the scheme. “We need to plug this leakage and bring in end-to-end computerization. We have been able to trace bogus ration cards and bring down the total number (of ration cards) from 22 crore (220 million) to 16 crore (160 million)," he said. The food minister plans to convene a meeting of state food ministers in the first week of October to discuss reforms in the PDS.
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