PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES IN PUNJAB

Public Distribution System (PDS) is poverty alleviation program and a direct state intervention to ensure regular supply of essential consumer goods at cheap and subsidized prices to deprived section so as to insulate them from impact of rising prices of these goods and maintain the minimum nutritional status of population. PDS is functioning quite efficiently under the joint coordination of both the Central and the State Government from last five decades and Government of India is spending a huge amount of money on this system to achieve food security. Punjab government started its own Atta Dal Scheme under PDS program and NFSA (National Food Security) Act covering more than half of its population to provide food supplies to the BPL households at subsidized rates. However, very often PDS is being criticized for its inefficiency to distributed the adequate and better quality goods to targeted strata of society. The performance of Public Distribution System (PDS) depends on its reach and potential to serve this deprived sections with entitled food commodities at affordable prices on regular basis. Thus, the present study measured the public distribution of essential commodities in Punjab by check out the different types of ration cards and ration commodities and analyze the responses given by the respondents of this study, about their satisfaction with quality, price and quantity of these commodities distributed under the Public Distribution System.