Food Security and the Public

Distribution System
• Evolution of the PDS
• Genesis: food problem of late 50s & 60s
• Green revolution
• Economic reforms 1991
• Revamped public distribution systems
• (RPDS) 1992 (1752 DDP, DPAP, ITDP
• etc. blocks)
• Targeted public distribution systems
• (TPDS) 1997, 2000 (BPL, AAY, APL)
 Objectives of Food Policy
• Assuring remunerative rates for farmers
• Supply of food grains at reasonable
• prices to consumers (through the PDS)
• Poverty alleviation
 Main Activities
• Market interventions, imports, buffer
• stocking and regulation
• Public Distribution System:
• Procurement, Storage, Movement,
• Distribution, Delivery
 PDS: Responsibility of cetnre
and states
• Centre’s
• responsibilities
• Procurement
• Storage
• Transportation
• Bulk allocation of
• food grains
• Subsidies
• States’
• responsibilities
• Identification of BPL
• families
• Issue of ration cards
• Allocations with in the
• states
• Intra state
• transportation
• Licensing of FPSs
• Supervision &
• Monitoring
 Procurement
• Objectives: remunerative prices, service PDS,
• buffer stocks
• Minimum support price
• Procurement of wheat, paddy and levy rice
• CACP’s recommendations and MSP
• “Fixing of procurement prices at levels higher
• than the CACP’s recommendations has led to
• the procurement of an additional quantity of
• 12.8 mt of wheat and 3.4 of rice.”
 CACP prices and MSP (Wheat)
(Rs./quintal)

Year Price recommended by Price announced

CACP by Govt.
1997-98 405 475
1998-99 455 510
1999-00 490 550
2000-01 550 580
2001-02 580 610
Minimum support price
(Rs./quintal)