The document discusses problems with India's public distribution system (PDS) and proposes solutions. A team from Babu Banarasi Das National Institute of Technology and Management in Lucknow presented on improving the reach and efficiency of PDS. Major issues include leakage, diversion of supplies, corruption, and poor quality. Proposed solutions include computerization, community monitoring, a citizen complaint website, SMS alerts, food vouchers, and local procurement/distribution. Implementing these solutions could increase transparency, reduce diversion and leakage, and better serve those below the poverty line who rely on PDS. Significant challenges remain to fully reform the system.

1. Manthan topic
Plugging the leaks: Improving reach & efficiency of
public distribution system
Team details:
Gaurav pati tripathi (team coordinator)
Vineet dhar dwivedi
Saurabh yadav
Abhishek pandey
Atul Kumar
College name: Babu Banarasi das national institute of technology and
Management, lucknow

2. Problem statement
Number of research studies by individuals.
institutions and government agencies have
been conducted on the subject PDS. The
Planning Commission’s Report says that
‘with a net work of more than 7,00,000’
FPS, the PDS in India are perhaps the
largest distribution machinery of its type
in the world. PDS is said to distribute each
year commodities worth near about Rs.
21,000 Cr. to about 18 cr. families. The
huge network can play a more meaningful
role if only the system is able to translate
into micro level and macro level self-
sufficiency by ensuring availability of
food grains for the poor households. The
above statement by the Planning
Commission has lot of meanings and
expresses a desire to know the utility and
implementation process of PDS scheme.
Some of questions raised by the Planning
Commission on PDS.
•Its totally failure (PDS) to
serve the population below
poverty line
•Its urban bias and neglect of
rural areas
•Lack of transparent and
accountable arrangements for
delivery
•Diversion of PDS Commodities
to the open market
•The effectiveness of delivery
machinery (coordination,
accountability and supervision)
•Quality of foods

3. Problems in
distribution system
Public Distribution System (PDS)
is a poverty alleviation program
and contributes towards the social
welfare of the people. Essential
commodities like rice, wheat,
sugar, kerosene and the like are
supplied to the people under the
PDS at reasonable prices. PDS is a
boon to the people living below the
poverty line. PDS is the primary
social welfare and antipoverty
programme of the Government of
India.
It is necessary to know that where
is the problem in distribution
system, what is the problem and
why is the problem. Then after we
can search the solution of this
problem which play important role
in growth of our economic rate, &
development of India.
some facts which are unseen
problems:
•Benefit of PDS is only 1/10.
•Problems of inability to obtain
ration cards
•charging of higher price
•inferior quality of food grains
supplied through the PDS
•no awareness
•Leakage
•under-weighment
•corruption

4. Proposed solution
computerization
We can apply computerization at all distribution place in
urban area. With help of this we can minimize the
weighment problem.
Community
suggestion
When community of citizen monitored at distribution place
then corrupted person can’t interfered among them. It is
beneficial in rural areas.
Citizen‘s web-
site
Citizen awareness and participation in the public delivery
system is a major check against diversion and leakage.
Hence a citizen interface website should be created. One can
lodge complaints, give suggestions. This web-site should
also provides a method to check diversion of trucks carrying
PDS
Complaint
monitoring
system
Complain register in web-site should be monitoring and
take quick response against complain. These complains
should be handle by a clean image officer.

5. Sms system
An SMS should to all the mobile numbers registered for that
FPS. This message contain the truck number, the quantities of
PDS commodities being sent by that truck, and the date and
time of dispatch. This will improve transparency & diversion.
Food
voucher
This voucher can be exchange from any shop for food. This
voucher should provide to all pds holder. This method can
neglect the leakage and corruption problems. Distributer give
food grains to take this voucher.
Local
procurement
&
distribution
one reason for the inefficiencies and corruption that plague
the current system is the long distribution chain. Food
supplies go waste or are diverted at each step of the process.
It also takes a long time for food produce to reach ends of the
chain. If local administrative take charge of distribution then
availability of food will increase and leakage will be stop.

6. How to implement solutions
problems
diversion
41%
corruption
27%
leakage
19%
other 14%
To stop diversion we require to sent sms to all BPL
holders that they about quantity, quality, and other
things about distribution of foods. Sms may contains
no. of truck colour of truck etc.
We may use some technical glitches to improve
public distribution system using biometric data
associated with system.
There is a leakage in this PDS. Some people give
bribe to get food, so it doesn’t reach near real person.
So to make it transparent license should be give to
clean image person.
When a truck with rice and other commodities
reaches the warehouse for delivery, the truck is
photographed using the application and sent to the
server. The truck and receiver's photograph along
with latitude and longitude reaches the server. With
help of this we can stop diversion.

7. Implementation
To stop corruption we require to short distribution chain. For
this we should want that no. of person involve in this chain
have certificate from government and minimum no. of
person involve in this distribution system. Due to this criteria
maximum wheat, rice, pulse will reach near people.
Problem can also addressed by local citizen. If possible,
distribution should held by local public, due to that interfering
of any muscle power politician will be decrease, and other
corrupted person will out from this social distribution system.
Date, place, time should tell about distribution to all BPL, APL
card holders through sms and give food grain voucher to
people so that there is no chance for any type of fault side of
government & other problem an be handle by us.

8. Effectiveness of solution
Universalisation of PDS
Define a new and realistic
set of poverty &prepare a
fresh list of BPL.
Extended working hours for
the facility of the villagers
Modernize the information
& extension for the
villagers.
Build confidence in public that
complains lodged through the
system will be attended to.
The role of FPS cannot
be restricted with the
distribution of rationed
articles alone, both in the
context of business
viability as well as
safeguarding the poor
against spiralling rice of
essential commodities.
Hence, FPS should
concentrate on non-
controlled articles also.
At the same time they
should be competitive
enough in attracting the
consumers

9. Impact of solution
With help of computerization there will be decrease in leakage by some
powerful person, there will be routine created in distribution system.
When we apply food voucher process at places of distribution then there
will come transparency in system and many person will join who are
eligible for distribution.
with help of sms alert, citizen web-site there will no suspicion to any type
of problem, if problem create then we can solve problem.
Computer Monitoring system will very useful for us. This system can stop
diversion. If we use GPS system at truck which bring food grains then we
can know the position of truck.
There will be many impact of solution, only we need to apply this in our
city, state, nation. With help of this solution we can stop leakage in public
distribution system.

10. Challenges before us
Irregularities in PDS
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Ration card-59%
Diversion-54%
Inferior quality-51%
Less quantity-49%
Fault weight-38%
Over charging-39%
We have many challenges before us to make
it successful. challenge relating to the Public
Distribution of India is that of leakages either
during transportation or due to the existence
of ghost cards. 48.3% of the food which was
to be distributed by PDS was leaked via the
ration shops. Leakage at various levels of the
distribution chain leads to increased subsidy
cost. According to a survey 54% of total food
grain is to diverted from way. Our challenge
is to make it beneficial for all BPL, APL
card holders.

11. conclusion
In our country public distribution system is
requirement of below poverty line people, because
they are not able to buy necessary foods from the
market. But in our system there are many kind of
substance which doesn’t want that any work done by
honestly. They want that all kind of profit go in their
packet, and other kind is politicians which show their
power to public & interfior in their work. In brief there
is a big problem in our system, from top to bottom
almost person are corrupted. But we can change this
routine with our effort, with our zeal, our dedication.
Distribution system is demand of our country for
poverty. Using some solution we can minimize above
problems.

12. References
Book: U.K Singh(1991), public distribution system, mittal publication, new
Delhi
Report: government of India(2002-2003),economic survey
India corruption study 2005 by centre of media studies
Link: http://agridept.cg.gov.in/statistics.html
http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/peoreports/peo/peotpds.pdf
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=90797