Feeding India’s Poor: Plugging Leakages, Without Doing Any Harm

• by Isvary Sivalingam and Lokesh Singh
• May 31, 2016
• 1 min
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This policy brief discusses two distinct and more recent approaches, namely, Direct Benefit Transfers and e-PDS (i.e. Automation in PDS), as undertaken by different states to address leakages.

India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) has long come under fire for its high cost of delivery and susceptibility to corruption and leakages. The attempts to reform in the last decades however, offer hope that leakages can be significantly reduced if dedicated action is taken. This policy brief discusses two distinct and more recent approaches, namely, Direct Benefit Transfers and e-PDS (i.e. Automation in PDS), as undertaken by different states to address leakages. The findings are primarily discussed from the perspective of delivery to all eligible citizens and highlight existing issues with both approaches. These have implications depending on the specific state context and on this basis, recommendations are made to policymakers and implementing agencies.