Q- What are some of the important features of the PDS?
Answer- PDS refers to Public Distribution System. It is a government sponsored chain of shops, entrusted with the work of distributing basic food as well as non-food commodities to the poor or needy section of the society. At very cheap or minimum support price that can be easily afford by the poor people.
The main features of Public Distribution system are as follows:
1. Public Distribution system helps in averting the widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from surplus regions of the country to be deficit areas.
2. Public Distribution system is introduce by Indian government to stabilize the prices and making food available for all, people and reduce number of food insecure people in India.
In this Public Distribution system firstly the Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchases food grains from farmers in states where it is a surplus production.
In this buying and selling the farmers were paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum Support Price.
Every year the government announces the Minimum Support Price before the season of sowing to provide incentives to the farmers for raising production of these crops.
After it this stock of food grains is sold to poor people in minimum support price in ration shops. This called Public Distribution System.
Due to high number of food insecure people in India the Indian government had introduced or launched several other programmes to reduce poverty in India. Some of the most popular or successful poverty alleviation programmes which were launched by Indian government are as follows:
1. Food for work program
2. Integrated Child Development Services
3. Antyodaya Anna Yojana