States to speed up lifting of subsidised PDS foodgrains
Expressing displeasure at the slow offtake of subsidised foodgrains by states, the Centre today told them to improve lifting of Public Distribution System (PDS) stocks.
July 26, 2011 / 15:45 IST
Expressing displeasure at the slow offtake of subsidised foodgrains by states, the Centre today told them to improve lifting of Public Distribution System (PDS) stocks.
Recently, the Centre allocated an additional five million tonne of foodgrains each to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas said addressing a day-long meeting of major foodgrain-consuming states here."These allocations have been made at subsidised rates, but the offtake so far is only around 50%," Thomas said and urged the states to speed up lifting of these additional foodgrains in full and distribute them to the target beneficiaries.The meeting was attended by state ministers and senior officials of nine major foodgrain-consuming states, including Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh. Officials from various central ministries and FCI were also present.Thomas reiterated the government's commitment to enact a National Food Security Act, which would guarantee the poor access to subsidised food."The government is determined to enact the National Food Security Act, which will entitle every family below the poverty line to certain quantities of foodgrains at subsidised prices," he said, according to an official statement."Efforts are being made to move the Bill in this regard in Parliament during the coming session itself," Thomas added.The legislation will also be used to bring about broader systemic reforms in the Public Distribution System (PDS).Outlining the initiatives taken by the Centre for creating additional foodgrains storage capacity, Thomas urged the states ministers to take appropriate steps at their level as well for creation of additional capacity at the district, sub-divisional, block and gram panchayat level by sourcing
funds from various developmental schemes.He said an Integrated Information System for Foodgrains Management (IISFM) had been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for use by Food Corporation of India (FCI).The project aims at putting an online management system in place to give information about foodgrains management in FCI at any point of time, he added. The minister said the Union government has also taken up several initiatives for computerisation of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
