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Empowering People to Power the Public Distribution System
Despite comparatively high growth rates, India has struggled to dampen the scourge of food and nutrition insecurity facing its population. The public distribution system, at the heart of India’s food security initiatives, has been plagued by problems ranging from ineffective targeting of beneficiaries, to corruption and pilferage of foodgrains. A six-state institutional process-mapping exercise is analysed to capture the movement of foodgrains from farms to beneficiaries, and evaluate changes brought in by the reforms, including expanding coverage, employing technology, and decentralising procurement.
This paper is an outcome of a research initiative of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, with the University of Sydney and University of Western Australia, supported under the Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant.
Despite comparatively high growth rates, India has struggled to dampen the scourge of food and nutrition insecurity facing its population. The public distribution system, at the heart of India’s food security initiatives, has been plagued by problems ranging from ineffective targeting of beneficiaries, to corruption and pilferage of foodgrains. A six-state institutional process-mapping exercise is analysed to capture the movement of foodgrains from farms to beneficiaries, and evaluate changes brought in by the reforms, including expanding coverage, employing technology, and decentralising procurement.
