information about merits and demerits of PDS that is public distribution system.
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Merits and demerits of PDS?
Answer
PDS stands for Public Distribution System. The public distribution system is a government-sponsored chain of shops which have the responsibility of distributing basic food and non-food commodities to the poor families of India at very low prices. The identification of poor families is made by various extensive surveys conducted by India. Those poor families are assigned a unique ration card known as “PDS Yellow card”. It is administered by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. A below poverty line cardholder should be given 35 kg of food grain, and the cardholder above the poverty line should be given 15 kg of food grain as per the norms of PDS. PDS shops are also known as “Fair Price shops”.
Merits or Advantages of Public Distribution System are:
• It provides food security to poor people of India.
• It helps in alleviating the poverty level of India.
• It ensures that no person dies because of hunger.
• It helps in stabilizing food prices.
• It ensures the availability of food at affordable and subsidized rates.
Demerits or Disadvantages of Public Distribution System are:
• The food grains supplied by the ration shops are not enough to meet the consumption needs of the poor.
• Quality of the food grains is very low.
• There is corruption involved in the process of identifying the poor families, and therefore, the benefit of PDS does not reach the needy poor sections of the society.
• Managers of ration shops often do not supply the food grains at a subsidized rate to the poor and sell them at higher prices in the black market.