Lok Sabha Question No. 2881 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-13
Subject: Corruption in PDS
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: HEMANT TUKARAM GODSE, RAM TAHAL CHOUDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2881 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13 TH  MARCH, 2018

## CORRUPTION IN PDS

## 2881. SHRI GODSE HEMANT TUKARAM: SHRI RAM TAHAL CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  working  of  Public Distribution  System  (PDS)  in  the States has  been  severely  affected  by  corruption  in the  system  leading  to diversion, black marketing and supply of poor quality foodgrains, if so, the details thereof indicating the number of such cases reported, the number of persons held responsible and the corrective steps taken thereon along with the  punitive  action  taken against  those  held  responsible  and  the outcome thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has undertaken a project for computerisation of  PDS  and  introduce  techniques  like  smart card,  thumb impression,  etc.  and  if  so,  the details  and  the  present  status  thereof indicating  the  nature  of  assistance  provided by  the  Government  to  the States;
- (c) whether the guidelines issued by the Government for implementation of  the computerisation project have been followed by the States and if so, the details thereof and if not, the corrective steps taken in this regard;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to  launch a nation-wide network system for  tracking  of  the  movement  of  PDS  items to  check  diversion  and pilferage and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the other steps taken to strengthen PDS?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE FOR  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

(a) Public Distribution System (PDS) is operated under the joint responsibility of  the  Central  and  State/UT  Governments.  Central  Govt.  is  responsible  for procurement, allocation and transportation of foodgrains upto the designated depots  of the FCI. The  operational responsibilities for allocation  and distribution of foodgrains within the States/UTs, identification of eligible

beneficiaries/families, issuance of ration cards to them and supervision and monitoring of functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) rest with the concerned State/UT Government. As and when  complaints are received by the Government  from  individuals  and  organizations  as  well  as  through  press reports,  they  are  sent  to  State/UT  Governments  concerned  for  inquiry  and appropriate  action.  A  State/UT-wise  statement  showing  the  number  of complaints  on  TPDS  received  in  year  2015  -  2017  and  forwarded  to States/UTs for further necessary action is Annexed. Besides, this Department has also issued instructions to State/UTs and Food Corporation of India to ensure supply of good quality foodgrains under PDS.

(b)  to  (e):  With  an  aim  to  bring  reforms  in  the  functioning  of    Public Distribution system (PDS), Government is implementing a scheme on 'End-toEnd Computerization of PDS Operations' in collaboration with all States/UTs. The scheme comprises digitization of ration cards/beneficiaries, computerization  of  supply-chain  management,  setting  up  of  transparency portals and grievance redressal mechanisms in all States/UTs. The Scheme also  includes  automation  of  Fair  Price  Shops  (FPSs)  by  installation  of electronic  Point  of  Sale  (e-PoS)  devices  at  FPSs  for  biometric/  Aadhaar authentication of beneficiaries, electronic capturing of sale transactions at FPSs,  etc.  Administrative  Approval  for  the  scheme  was  conveyed  to  all States/UTs in December 2012 and time to time instructions and guideline are being issued to States/UTs through letters. At present, Digitization of ration cards/beneficiaries  has  been  completed  in  all  States/UTs  and  2.95  lakh  of 5.27  lakh  FPSs  have  ePoS  devices  in  the  country.  Further,  to  identify  and weed out duplicate/ ineligible beneficiaries from PDS, and to enable rightful targeting of food subsidies - States/UTs have been asked to seed available Aadhaar numbers of eligible beneficiaries/ households in their ration cards. At  present  about  82%  ration  cards  under  NFSA  at  the  national  level  have been seeded with Aadhaar numbers of at least one member of the household. Due  to  uneven  progress  of  Computerization  in  States/UTs,  validity  of  the scheme has been extended up to 31 st  March 2019.

A new central sector scheme - Integrated Management of PDS (IMPDS) has been approved to be implemented in years 2018-19 and 2019-20 for de-duplication and portability of ration cards/beneficiaries.

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## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO PART (a) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2881 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 13.03.2018 IN THE LOK SABHA.

STATEMENT:      COMPLAINTS  ON  TPDS  RECEIVED  IN  THE  DEPARTMENT  FROM INDIVIDUALS, ORGANISATIONS & THROUGH MEDIA REPORTS ETC FROM 2015 TO 2017.

| S. No.     | State/UT          | 2015   | 2016   | 2017   |
|------------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1          | Andhra Pradesh    | 8      | 5      | 10     |
| 2          | Arunachal Pradesh | 1      | -      | -      |
| 3          | Assam             | 34     | 32     | 17     |
| 4          | Bihar             | 106    | 81     | 169    |
| 5          | Chhattisgarh      | 6      | 9      | 9      |
| 6          | Delhi             | 114    | 91     | 98     |
| 7          | Goa               | -      | 1      | 2      |
| 8          | Gujarat           | 8      | 12     | 9      |
| 9          | Haryana           | 35     | 34     | 47     |
| 10         | Himachal Pradesh  | 4      | 5      | 6      |
| 11         | J&K               | 6      | 3      | 4      |
| 12         | Jharkhand         | 32     | 29     | 35     |
| 13         | Karnataka         | 16     | 22     | 28     |
| 14         | Kerala            | 17     | 23     | 13     |
| 15         | Madhya Pradesh    | 17     | 25     | 21     |
| 16         | Maharashtra       | 49     | 63     | 77     |
| 17         | Manipur           | 6      | 4      | 2      |
| 18         | Meghalaya         | 7      | 9      | -      |
| 19 Mizoram | -                 |        | -      | 2      |
| 20         | Nagaland          | -      | 2      | 2      |
| 21         | Orissa            | 22     | 43     | 22     |
| 22         | Punjab            | 10     | 7      | 5      |
| 23         | Rajasthan         | 33     | 59     | 82     |
| 24         | Sikkim            | -      | 1      | -      |
| 25 Tamil   | Nadu              | 22     | 33     | 31     |
| 26         | Telangana         | 10     | 1      | 4      |
| 27         | Tripura           | -      | 1      | 1      |
| 28         | Uttarakhand       | 24     | 21     | 22     |
| 29         | Uttar Pradesh     | 197    | 462    | 445    |
| 30         | West Bengal       | 32     | 29     | 49     |
| 31         | A&N Island        | -      | 1      | -      |
| 32         | Chandigarh        | 6      | 2      | -      |
| 33         | D& N Haveli       | -      | 1      | -      |
| 34         | Daman & Diu       | -      | -      | -      |
| 35         | Lakshadweep       | -      | -      | -      |
| 36         | Puducherry        | -      | -      | 1      |
| TOTAL      | TOTAL             | 822    | 1111   | 1213   |

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