Public Distribution System in India

Contents: Preface. Introduction. I. Public distribution system and the food security: 1. Public distribution system: a poor delivery system/Debes Mukhopadhayay. 2. Public distribution system in India and food security/Ratan Lal Basu. 3. Inevitability of public distribution system for food security in Bihar vis-a-vis India/H.C.L. Das. 4. Management of public distribution system in India: an arrangement for food security/Anju Singh, Kalanand Singh and Asha Dubey. 5. Role of PDS and food security/Subodh Kumar Sinha and Vinod Kumar Sinha. 6. Significance and role of PDS in food security for downtrodden in Jharkhand/N.C. Jha and Navendu Shekhar. 7. Impact of the public distribution system on poverty and food security/Ranjana Singh. 8. Management of public distribution system in Bihar: a goal of food security/Kumari Sudama Yadav and Shabnam Parween. 9. Role of public distribution system in food security/Chandra Kant Singh and Rakesh Kumar Singh. 10. Public distribution system (PDS), food security and poverty alleviation programmes: a case of Bihar/Mritunjay Prasad Singh, Amita Sinha and G.S. Dokania. 11. Possibility of food security in Bihar through the mechanism of public distribution system: some constraints/Niranjay Kumar. 12. Role of public distribution system in food security: a study in historical perspective/Arvind Kumar Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Abhay K. Pandey. 13. Impact of food security on nutritional health of rural women/Arun Kumar Thakur and Umesh Kumar Jha. 14. Issue of food security for poor people and problem of public distribution system in India/Sandhya Rani and Chandra Bhushan Kumar. 15. An assessment of targeted public distribution system in India and role of Government in solving the problem of food security for poor/Bishwanath Gupta, Bindeshwar Kumar and As Mahammad. II. Functioning of PDS in Bihar: 16. A reflection on PDS: its operation and challenges/Sudama Singh. 17. Public distribution system in Bihar/Anju Jain. 18. Significance of public distribution system in context of food security in Bihar/Ramanuj Sharma. 19. Review of public distribution system in India with special reference to Bihar/Anjana Kumari and Anju Sinha. 20. PDS and its functioning in Bihar and Jharkhand/Laxmi Kumar. 21. Public distribution system in Bihar: an analysis of present scenario/Satyendra Narayan Singh, Rajesh Kumar and Suresh Kumar. III. Various aspects of PDS: 22. Public distribution system and regional imbalances/Abhishek Kumar and Aprana Bhardwaj. 23. Global food crisis and its impact on India/D.K. Bhattacharya and Niyati Chakraborty. 24. Who does the public distribution system target?/Kamini Jha. 25. Strengthening public distribution system/Shailesh Kumar. 26. Public distribution system and Panchayati Raj Institutions/Saroj Kumar. 27. PDS and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/Sanjay Kumar. 28. Public distribution system and Panchayati Raj Institutions in Bihar and Jharkhand/Binod Prasad and Pankaj Kumar. 29. Public distribution system in India/Syed Alay Mujtaba, Pankaj Purushotam and Kamlesh Kumar. 30. Developmentalism through PDS mechanism: towards a new regime--paradoxical situation/Nisha Kumari and Swarnim Ghosh. 31. The efficiency of public distribution system as a poverty eradication in India/Chandrika Prasad. 32. Public distribution system: Issues and challenges/Ashok Kumar Jha, Mirza Ehshan Haidar Sham and Gori Shankar. 33. Working of PDS/TPS and food management/Mukul Kumar Singh. 34. Social aspects of public distribution system: some issues/Jagdish Prasad and Arun Kumar. 35. Administrative aspects in delivery mechanism of public distribution system/R. Rahman and Md. Aiyub Rayeen. 36. Panchayati Raj and Public distribution system in India/Bipin Pd. Singh and Md. Aiyub Rayeen. 37. Public distribution system, Panchayati Raj and women\'s empowerment: key steps for accelerating gender justice/Vandana Kumari. 38. Public distribution system in backward region of Jharkhand: a need for efficient Governance/Ram Kumar Prasad and B.K. Pandey. 39. Public distribution system in India: an introspective view/Asim K. Karmakar and Sangeeta Kundu. 40. Problem of food and hunger: a need for introducing targeted public distribution system for the poorest in India/Dhananjay Kumar, Arun Kumar and Iswari Prasad. 41. An analysis of targeted public distribution system in backward areas of India/Prita Yadav and Ram Dular Singh. Index.

Public distribution system in India is a major intervention aimed at ensuring food security to all the poor, especially the vulnerable sections of the society. It not only provides essential commodities, including foodgrains to more than 6 million families on regular basis but also ensures the price stability in the market.  Functioning of the PDS is the joint responsibility of the Central Government and State Government, while the Central Government is responsible for the procurement and transportation of wheat/rice, sugar, kerosene oil, edible oils, etc. up to the principle distribution centers, the state Governments are responsible for the identification of families living below the poverty line, issue of ration cards, appointment of dealers for the distribution of essential commodities to the vulnerable sections of the society through EPSs.
 
This book will help the policy planners to find efficient and equitable ways to make the proposed right to food a great success. Ultimately this will ensure the growth with inclusiveness. (jacket)