Government's Steps To Ensure Quality Foodgrains In PDS

Today's post is to bring to the people's notice of what the Government has done to ensure that quality foodgrains are issued for Public Distribution System (PDS).

Here are the steps taken up by the Government in order to make sure that quality foodgrains are issued for PDS.

• Ample opportunities are being provided to officials of State Governments/UT Administrations to inspect the stocks prior to lifting from FCI godowns.
• State Governments/UT Administrations have been requested to depute an officer not below the rank of Inspector for inspection of the foodgrains before their lifting from FCI godowns.
• The samples from the stocks to be issued to States/UTs are to be drawn jointly and sealed by the officers of State Governments and FCI for displaying them at Fair Price Shops (FPS) for the benefit of consumers.

• In case the State agencies are taking delivery from FCI and thereafter delivering the same to the FPS dealers, they have to follow the same procedure as being followed by FCI for issuing the jointly sealed samples drawn for display at FPS (Fair Price Shops).
• Type samples are to be displayed by FPS dealers in their shops, so that the consumers may check the quality of foodgrains supplied to them.
• State Governments/ UT Administrations have been asked to ensure that during transportation and storage at different stages in the distribution chain, the foodgrains retain the required quality specifications.

This is according to an information given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on the 8^th of August 2011.

He said that strengthening and streamlining of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is a continuous process. Government has regularly reviewed and has also issued instructions to States/Union Territories to strengthen functioning of TPDS by improving monitoring mechanism and vigilance, increased transparency in functioning of TPDS, adoption of revised Model Citizen’s Charter, use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and by improving the efficiency of Fair Price Shop operations.

PDS Gaya however is functioning successfully since the implementation of its e-PDS. Visit pdsonline for more.