Findings of PDS Survey held in June, 2011

[Gopika Nangia]

A summer survey to study the ground realities of the Public Distribution System (PDS), initiated by IIT Delhi, and coordinated by development economists, Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera, was conducted in the month of June, 2011. A group of research scholars and student volunteers spent three weeks surveying the PDS in more than 100 randomly-selected villages spread over nine states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, R­ajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh). They inspected the local fair price shops and interviewed more than a thousand “below-the-poverty-line” (BPL) households. 

Here are a group of articles written by them based on their findings : 

Open Letter to the PM :  In all the sample states, with the notable exception of Bihar, there have been major initiatives in the recent past to improve the PDS and these efforts are showing results. Most of the sample households were getting the bulk if not the whole of their food­grain entitlements under the PDS  

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/letter-toprime-ministerpublic-distribution-system/443560/ (Also contains table illustrating their findings)

PDS: Signs of Revival by Reetika Khera  Obituaries for the PDS system are a bit premature, based as they are on outdated data and presumptions. Despite flaws like pilfering and leakages, the system shows signs of improvement in certain states. 

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2011/06/12/stories/2011061250110400.htm

PDS Leakages : The Plot Thickens by Reetika Khera and Jean Drèze : While diversion rates still remain high, evidence seems to point to substantial improvements in the public distribution system around the country. 

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2011/06/12/stories/2011061250110400.htm

The PDS Learning Curve by Jijo Jose:  In Odisha, we surveyed two districts: Nuapada, infamous for its starvation deaths and high rates of distress migration, and Sundergarh, hotbed of the controversial POSCO project. In each district we surveyed six villages, spread over two blocks 

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/pds-learning-curve