What Are The Problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Problems of the functioning of ration shops?

What are ration shops?

Ration shops, also known as fair price shops, are stores that sell food as part of the public distribution system, such as rice and wheat (PDS). These are normally stores or shops that sell daily items at a lower price, such as wheat, barley, maize, and so on. These shops or stores can be found in both semi-urban and rural areas of the country. They were primarily founded to represent and assist society’s backward and the poor classes.

These stores typically sell items that have been released by the government. The government buys these goods directly from the manufacturers and sells them to shops at half-price, enabling customers to save money.

Why are the ration shops necessary?

• Ration shops are critical for providing people living in poverty with simple and affordable access to food, which is a basic human need.
• Ration shops are supervised by the government in order to reduce malnutrition in the nation.
• Ration shops may help to alleviate food insecurity.
• It is also beneficial for the poorest of the poor to be able to purchase all food products at nominal prices.

Who started the ration system in India?

Alauddin Khilji, a Delhi sultan, was the first to implement the rationing scheme in India in the 1940s. Owing to severe food shortages, this device may be implemented prior to the green revolution. Each family is given a ration card that allows them to buy “subsidised food grain” from the “Public Distribution System” under this system. In order to enable the poor to purchase food grains, kerosene and sugar at a very small cost than the market price.

What are the three types of ration cards?

The three types of ration cards issued by the Public Distribution System are as follows:

Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) ration card: This ration card is only available to the poorest of the poor. This card is used to identify poverty-stricken households with fluctuating income. Every month, these cardholders are entitled to 35 kilogrammes of food grain; wheat costs Rs. 2 per kilogramme, rice costs Rs. 3 per kilogramme, and coarse grain costs Rs. 1 per kilogramme.

Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card: This ration card is given to people who are on the verge of being impoverished. BPL card holders are eligible for half-price food grains of 10 kg to 20 kg per month per household. The state governments set the fixed prices for wheat, rice, sugar, and other products per kilogram.

Above Poverty Line (APL) ration card: This card is given to people who are above the poverty line. These cardholders can receive 10 to 20 kilograms of food grains each month for their families. The state government sets the prices for kerosene oil, sugar, wheat, and rice.

Who decides the central issue price?

The central government sells wheat and rice to states and union territories at uniform central issues prices (CIP) for distribution under the TPDS. Since 2000, the issue prices for food grains in the AAY and BPL categories, as well as the CIP in the APL categories, have remained steady.

The disparity between the expense (MSP plus handling and shipping costs) and the issue price at which the consumer purchases food grains is referred to as the food subsidy. Food subsidies are reimbursed to FCI and state governments, and they are in charge of procuring and delivering food grains to states at CIP. The buffer subsidy is included in the food subsidy, which is the expense paid by FCI and states for keeping buffer stocks longer than the specified time period.

What is Public Distribution System? Mention the two types of Public Distribution System

The Public Distribution System in India is a food protection system that is overseen by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (PDS).

In the form of deliveries of the ingredients grain at even lower luxury prices, PDS promotes a scheme of scarcity administrations. PDS is controlled jointly by the federal government and state governments.

• Meals obtained by the use of FCI are distributed to the poorest sections of society through government-controlled ration stores. This is known as the Public Distribution System (PDS) (PDS).
• In India, there are approximately 46 lakh ration shops located in towns, villages, and cities. These Fair Price Shops stock products used in the kitchen, such as kefir.
• The products used in cooking, such as kerosene oil, sugar, wheat, and rice, are kept in stock at these Fair Price Shops.
• Families with ration cards can purchase these things as needed. They will get these things at a cheaper price than the retail price.

In India, there are two types of Public Distribution Systems:

1. Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS)
2. Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)

Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS): This system of PDS ensures the food security of the people in the country. With the objective to provide food in remote and backward areas, this system was implemented in 1700 blocks in the year 1992.

Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): This system of PDS ensures the distribution of basic food supplies according to the poverty line, i.e. above the below the poverty line of people. The government regulates the supply of food grains through ration shops to the people.

What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Food procured by FCI is distributed to the poor through ration shops, which have been set up in the majority of towns, villages, and cities. This is a part of the government’s Public Distribution System (PDS), which is the most important step in ensuring the country’s food security. However, there have recently been a number of problems with the ration shops’ service.

These are as follows:

i.  The rationed goods given to the needy are of poor quality compared to what they can get. As a result, the poor must rely on the market to meet their needs.

ii.  Some ration shop proprietors indulge in immoral conduct. To maximize their profit, they illegally divert the grains to the open market.

iii.  Some ration shops are unable to sell their inferior grains, resulting in a loss for them.

iv.  Since some dealers do not open their stores on a regular basis, poor people are unable to receive their ration quota on time.

v.  The PDS scheme has been more complicated with the introduction of color-coded cards and three different rates for the same article to different groups of people.

a) Since APL cardholders get very little discount at the ration shops, they have lost their interest to purchase these items from the ration shops.

b) Some of the ration shop dealers weigh less and cheat the illiterate poor, while some others sell the only low quality of grains.

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