Food security is still one of the most critical policy issues for the Indian households with limited financial capacity. The Public Distribution System (PDS), as an important component of the country’s food security system, plays a significant role in providing subsidized food grains to the vulnerable households. The existing literature on the PDS reveals the functioning gaps in the areas of supply and delivery such as irregular supply, quality of commodities, and access. This paper aims to assess the performance of PDS and user’s perception in the urban areas of Rohtak District (Haryana). The findings of the study revealed that a majority of the households are fully dependent on subsidized ration to fulfill their nutritional requirements. However, the gap in the supply of PDS both in terms of quantity and quality forces the households to meet their food requirements from the open market. The issues of irregular opening hours of fair-price shop, the shortage of stock, and erratic distribution underscore the implementation challenges in the PDS. The paper reiterates the need for a robust PDS with reforms in the areas of effective monitoring systems, right-sizing logistics, quality-assurance framework, and grievance-redressal mechanisms, among others, to make the distribution system more inclusive, efficient, and effective in terms of nutritional outcomes. The study can be extrapolated to the semi-urban and rural areas as well.
Pragya Pragya (Wed,) studied this question.