Eleventh Five Year Plan

Nutrition and Social Safety Net 1374.1.43 Leakages cannot be lowered by finer targetingusing official poverty criterion. They require politicalcommitment and participation of the people in thedelivery process. The nexus between officials, the mafia,and ration shop dealers must be broken in order toreduce leakages. Monitoring and accountability ofTPDS (food security watch) should be improved in asignificant way. The TPDS needs to be strengthenedby means of the effective use of IT including introductionof a unique ID-based smart card system.Coverage of Commodities Suppliedthrough TPDS4.1.44 If nutrition security is one of the considerationsof TPDS, the government may explore the possibilityof including more commodities under TPDS. For example,cereals such as jowar, bajra, and also pulsescould be introduced in TPDS because of nutritionalconsiderations. The consumption of pulses is lowfor the poor. Operational details of supplying thesecommodities, particularly, pulses have to be workedout. It is true that presently the country has a shortageof these commodities. However, the introduction ofthese commodities may encourage production ofthese crops especially in dry land areas. The NationalFood Security Mission has identified pulses as anarea of focus.Steps Taken to Strengthen the TPDS andPlan Schemes4.1.45 The GoI has taken following measures tostrengthen TPDS and check diversion of foodgrainsmeant for TPDS:CITIZEN’S CHARTER• A Citizens’ Charter has been issued in November1997 for adoption by the State Governments toprovide services in a transparent and accountablemanner under PDS. Instructions have been issuedfor involvement of PRIs in identifications of BPLfamilies and in Vigilance Committee.PDS (CONTROL) ORDER, 2001• The Order, inter alia, covers a range of areas relatingto correct identification of BPL families, issueof ration cards, proper distribution, and monitoringof PDS-related operations. Contraventionsof the provisions of the Order are punishableunder the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.Clearly, these do not seem to have had muchimpact, since the NSSO estimates of 2006 suggestthat the extent of leakage and diversion of grain hasonly increased.4.1.46 In addition, a number of Plan Schemes havebeen introduced.(I) CONSTRUCTION OF GODOWNS4.1.47 The Scheme was conceived during the Fifth FiveYear Plan to build and increase the storage capacityavailable with FCI for storage of foodgrains.(II) INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEM FORFOODGRAINS MANAGEMENT (IISFM)4.1.48 The main objective of the IISFM project in theFCI, initiated in 2003–04, is to put in place an onlineMIS that would give the stock position in any depot atany given point of time.(III) STRENGTHENING OF PDSFood Credit Cards/Computerization ofPDS Operations4.1.49 A new scheme ‘Computerization of PDSOperations’ with a token provision of Rs 5 crore wasintroduced in 2006–07. The computerization of PDSoperations would be an improvement on the existingsystem of ration cards, that is, the present manualsystem of making entries, etc. The new system will havepersonal details of all members of the family includingtheir entitlement and the entire network of PDSfrom taluk to State level will be linked. With thiskind of system in place, the objectives of Food CreditCard Scheme of checking diversion of foodgrainsand eliminating the problem of bogus ration cards areexpected to be met.Curbing Leakages/Diversion of FoodgrainsMeant for TPDS4.1.50 This is a new scheme introduced during theEleventh Five Year Plan to strengthen the PDS. Thescheme aims at taking effective measures to curbdiversion and leakages through Global PositioningSystem, Radio Frequency Identification Device, etc.