Food coupons may replace ration shops

Fin min considering replacing PDS with food coupons

GN Bureau | February 17, 2010



The finance ministry is considering a proposal to do away with the public distribution system and start issuing food coupons to beneficiaries who can then buy food items from the open market, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday.

Aiming to target subsidies better through a less obtrusive mechanism, the ministry is holding internal discussions on a phased withdrawal of the price control mechanism for food items. It will present its views before a committee set up two weeks ago to look into the restructuring of the public distribution system, the report said.

The proposal is likely to find a mention in the upcoming budget, the report quoted a government official as saying.

The idea of food coupons was mooted in the economic survey for 2008-09. “It may be useful to introduce food stamps/coupons which may be valid outside the PDS outlets once the markets get better integrated. Food coupons will allow the consumers a wider choice,” the survey said.

A road map which will suggest the states in which the proposal will be implemented on a pilot basis is also expected soon.

The PDS provides rationed amounts of food items and other essential commodities at below market prices to more than 10 crore ration card holders through fair price shops (FPS). According to a Planning Commission study released in 2008 only about 42% of subsidized grains issued by the central pool reach the target group.

Comments

 

Other News

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter