(a) whether there are reports that widespread hunger and malnutrition have resulted from
lack of proper implementation of universal Public Distribution System;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto alongwith the
corrective steps taken in this regard;
(c) whether the Government proposes to initiate a fresh policy in this regard to overcome
the lacunae in the present system; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(PROF. K.V. THOMAS)
(a)to(d): For tackling the problem of hunger, starvation and malnutrition in the country
and to ensure that people living below poverty line get adequate food grains, the Government
has been providing food grains at highly subsidized prices to the targeted population through
the State Governments/UT Administrations under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) such as Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Wheat Based Nutrition Programme,
Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG), Annapurana, Emergency
Feeding Programme and Village Grain Bank Scheme.
Though there have been requests for universal PDS, Government is not considering to introduce
Universal Public Distribution System as the focus on poor will get diluted. It would require
procurement of huge quantities of wheat and rice which would result in less availability of
foodgrains in the market, leading to rise in open market prices. If the same quantity of
foodgrains is distributed equally among all, then the scale of issue will have to be reduced.
Further, in order to manage the level of food subsidy, the issue prices of rice and wheat may
have to be increased substantially from the present Central Issue Prices (CIPs) which have
not been revised during the last nine to eleven years. This may result in BPL and AAY families
getting reduced scale of foodgrains and paying higher prices.