Combating hunger: the public distribution system

Nayak, Nandini and Sinha, Dipa (2026) Combating hunger: the public distribution system. In: Realising right: a handbook of welfare in India. Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, pp. 238-255.

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Abstract

The Public Distribution System (PDS) in India has had a long and chequered history. From being a wartime rationing system in the 1940s, it emerged into a nationwide network serving multiple objectives including price stabilisation, reaching foodgrains to deficient regions and providing basic food security to the poor. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 made access to subsidised foodgrains through the PDS for 75 per cent of rural and 50 per cent of urban populations a legal entitlement. The PDS has since seen further expansion and a structural shift away from poverty-line-based targeting. Yet, issues such as inadequate coverage based on outdated population figures, exclusion of some marginalised populations, a narrow focus on cereals and digital exclusions remain. While addressing these, the PDS must be reimagined towards responding to the present challenges of poor dietary diversity as well as crop diversity.

Item Type:	Book Section
Authors:	Nayak, Nandini and Sinha, Dipa
Document Language:	Language English
Subjects:	Social sciences > Political Science > Public policy Social sciences > Economics > Production > Economic policy, economic development, economic growth Social sciences > Economics > Macroeconomics & related topics > Factors affecting income and wealth > Poverty
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > University Publications > Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy (CSIE)
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/7638
Publisher URL:	https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/

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