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Home / IAS Preparation / Pds And Tpds

Public Distribution System (PDS) and Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) | UPSC EConomy Notes

Last Updated on Apr 03, 2024
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The PDS and TPDS are government initiatives. They are aimed at providing affordable food to vulnerable communities. PDS distributes essential food items at subsidized prices through fair-price shops. TPDS identifies beneficiaries based on specific criteria. These systems play a crucial role in reducing poverty, malnutrition, and hunger. They ensure that those in need have access to nutritious food. PDS and TPDS contribute to improved well-being.

All these aspects of PDS and TPDS are important for civil services and competitive exams like SSC, State civil services, etc. In order to understand the topic in detail, Testbook prepares the best quality notes for civil service aspirants. Study major topics of the Indian Economy from the perspective of UPSC Exams.

Also, check out How Poor People are Identified here.

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What is a Public Distribution System?

The Public Distribution System (PDS) is the public rationing system of India which is administered by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.

While the federal government is in charge of food grain acquisition, storage, shipping, and bulk allocation, state governments are in charge of distributing the grains to consumers through a network of around 5 lakh Fair Price Shops. Wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene are among the most common goods supplied. States were obligated under the PDS to develop and implement fail-safe methods for identifying the poor in order to deliver food grains and distribute them in a transparent and accountable way at the FPS level. The responsibility for identifying the impoverished, procuring grains, and delivering food grains to recipients is shared by the centre and the states.

Check the Poverty Alleviation Programmes, a Critical Assessment in India for UPSC Exam Preparation, here.

Background of Public Distribution System 

  • During World War II, the Public Distribution System (PDS) was implemented as a rationing measure.
  • In the 1960s, the government created the Agricultural Prices Commission and the Food Corporation of India to improve domestic procurement and storage of food grains for the Public Distribution System in response to food insecurity.
  • PDS had grown into a countrywide scheme for the distribution of subsidised food by the 1970s.
  • The establishment of the Food Corporation of India and the Agricultural Prices Commission in 1965 solidified PDS’ position.
  • The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was established in 1997 with a focus on the disadvantaged. Through a network of ration stores, TPDS attempts to give subsidised food and fuel to the underprivileged.
  • Food grains such as rice and wheat are purchased from farmers, distributed to states, and transported to the ration shop where the beneficiary purchases his entitlement.
  • The National Food Security Act of 2013 mostly relies on the current TPDS to supply food grains to disadvantaged households as legal entitlements.

Also, check the Mid-Day Meal Scheme here.

What is Targeted Public Distribution System?

The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was started by the Indian government in June 1997 with a focus on the disadvantaged. The States identified the poor under the scheme using the technique of the “Expert Group on the calculation of proportion and number of poor” chaired by the Late Prof Lakdawala, based on the Planning Commission’s State-by-State poverty estimates for 1993-94. The allocation of food grains to States/UTs was based on average consumption in the past, i.e. average yearly off-take of food grains under the PDS for the previous ten years at the time of TPDS implementation.

Food grains in excess of BPL families’ needs were handed to the state as a “transitory allocation,” with a total of 103 lakh tonnes of food grains set aside per year. In addition to the TPDS allotment, states received supplementary funds. The interim allotment was intended to ensure that people living Above the Poverty Line (APL) continued to receive discounted food grains, as any abrupt termination of PDS benefits was deemed undesirable. The BPL food grain quota was supplied at subsidised prices that were higher than the temporary allocation costs.

Study the Issues Relating to Poverty and Hunger here.

Significance of Public Distribution System (PDS)
  • PDS has tremendous advantages for emerging economies. In Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan, public distribution programmes have aided in the enrollment of more girls in school.
  • It contributes to the nation’s food and nutritional security.
  • It has aided in the stabilisation of food prices and the provision of affordable food to the underprivileged.
  • It keeps a buffer reserve of food grains in the warehouse so that the food supply continues to flow even when agricultural food production is low.
  • It has aided in grain redistribution by supplying food from surplus areas of the country to areas in need.
  • Food grain production has increased as a result of the minimum support price and procurement system.

Check the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) article here.

Issues Associated with PDS System in India

Food Grain Leakage

TPDS experiences significant food grain leakage during transportation to and from ration shops into the open market. The previous Planning Commission discovered 36 per cent leakage of PDS rice and wheat at the national level during an audit of TPDS.

Procurement Issue

Open-ended procurement, which accepts all arriving grains even if buffer stock is full, causes a scarcity on the open market. The absence of suitable covered storage is going to be a matter of worry, given the increased purchase and incidences of rotting food grains. The existence of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) has encouraged farmers to divert acreage from coarse grain cultivation to rice and wheat production, hence discouraging Crop Diversification.

Storage Issues

The CAG‘s performance audit identified a significant deficiency in the government’s storage capacity.

Beneficiary identification

Research has revealed that targeting techniques like TPDS are prone to large inclusion and exclusion errors. This means that authorised recipients are not receiving food grains, while ineligible beneficiaries are receiving excessive benefits.

Environmental concerns

It has been discovered that a focus on self-sufficiency and a surplus of water-intensive food grains is unsustainable. Due to fertiliser overuse, agricultural states like Punjab and Haryana are experiencing rapid groundwater depletion and poor soil and water conditions. Rice harvesting caused the water table in northwest India to decrease by 33 cm per year between 2002 and 2008.

Know more about the Kisan Vikas Patra Scheme here.

Efforts to Improve the PDS

To make the TPDS more effective, reforms have been proposed. Using information technology and utilising Aadhaar to improve beneficiary identification are two major developments.

The function of Aadhaar in PDS

Integrating Aadhar with TPDS will improve beneficiary identification and address the issue of inclusion and exclusion errors. Using Aadhaar with TPDS would help remove duplicate and ghost (false) beneficiaries, according to research by India’s Unique Identification Authority. It would also improve beneficiary identification accuracy.

A substitute for TPDS

PDS was designed to be a universal entitlement scheme when it was originally implemented. It was renamed the Targeted PDS in 1997. Unlike the majority of states in the country, Tamil Nadu has kept the Universal Public Distribution System (UPDS), which provides subsidised food grains to the whole population.

Check the details on the Economy Notes here.

States have undertaken technology-based TPDS changes

Certain states had introduced computerisation and other technology-based changes to TPDS, according to the Supreme Court-appointed Wadhwa Committee, which helped stop food grain leakages during TPDS. For example, Tamil Nadu has a universal PDS in place, which means that every household is eligible for subsidised food grains. States like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have used IT to streamline the TPDS, such as digitising ration cards, using GPS delivery tracking, and allowing citizens to monitor the system via SMS.

  • Cash Transfers: As an alternative to the PDS, the National Food Security Act of 2013 offers cash transfers and food coupons. The state government will provide cash or coupons to the recipients, which they can exchange for food grains. The following are some of the potential benefits of these programmes:
    • Lower administrative expenses
    • More options for beneficiaries
    • Competitive pricing among grocery retailers

One Nation One Ration Card

The goal of the “One Nation, One Ration Card” system is to provide for nationwide portability of food security benefits under the NFSA, ensuring that all qualified beneficiaries can acquire subsidised food grains from any Public Distribution System (PDS) shop across the country using the same ration card. The ONORC is a federal programme that allows eligible people to get food grains that they are entitled to under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any Fair Price Shop (FPS), often known as ration shop, across the country.

Practice the Price Deficiency Payment System here!

Difference between PDS and TPDS

Difference between PDS and TPDS

Public Distribution System (PDS)

Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)

PDS was introduced during World War II.

TPDS was introduced in June 1997 by the government of India.

The public distribution system (PDS) is an Indian food security system focused on the poor.

The targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) under the Government of India plays the same objective as the PDS but adds a particular focus on the people below the poverty line.

In this article, we understand the PDS, TPDS and their features. Testbook provides a set of comprehensive notes for different competitive exams. Testbook is always on the top of the list because of its best quality assured products like live tests, mocks, Content pages, GK and current affairs videos and much more. To study more topics from the Indian Economy for UPSC, download the Testbook App now!

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PDS and TPDS FAQs

A targeted public distribution system offers 10kg of food grains per family per month at particularly subsidised prices to the BPL population. In India, the government's food security system relies heavily on the public distribution system.

In order to distribute food grains to the selected beneficiaries, the federal and state governments share duties. Food grains are purchased from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) and sold to states at central issue pricing.

Revamped PDS (RPDS) and Targeted PDS are the two varieties (TPDS).

PDS's issues include the dispersal of low-quality items, weight-cutting, and the leakage of PDS articles into the open market, among others.

Due to its coverage and affordability, the Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu alleviated poverty. Each family is entitled to 20 kg of rice at the rate of Re. 1 per kilogramme, regardless of whether they are poor or not.
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