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The Tamil Nadu Government sees providing universal coverage of the population under the public distribution system as a critical social safety net and a measure of market intervention to keep a check on food prices for the common good.
The new Government, led by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which took over in May, assured the populace its focus on development agenda with one of its earliest announcements being the supply of rice free over the PDS.
In line with the promise, it has earmarked for the food subsidy Bill Rs 4,500 crore for 2011-12, against Rs 3,950 crore last year, among the largest subsidy Bill for the Government and a new high.
Market interventon
With almost all the requirements of a family supplied over the PDS at highly subsidised prices, it is also an effective market intervention mechanism to control food prices while ensuring supply to the needy.
The present Government has also gone the extra mile to rein in food prices in the open market.
It has announced the creation of a Rs 50-crore stabilisation fund which can be used by cooperatives and Government agencies to intervene in the market when prices of essential commodities increase.
These agencies will procure the commodities and sell at controlled prices.
Also, to insulate the population from the rising prices of commodities, the Government has decided to extend up to December 2011 the ‘special PDS' which supplies pulses, cooking oil and condiments at subsidised prices.
Security Net
In its policy note for 2011-12 the State Government has said that despite the Centre's support for a targeted public distribution system, it prefers to opt for universal coverage by bringing the entire population under the ambit of the PDS.
However, if the Centre makes the targeted PDS mandatory, the State Government has suggested a methodology to ensure that none of the needy are left out from the purview of the social security measure.
Tamil Nadu does not wish to risk leaving out any of the needy from access to PDS, a risk posed by the targetted public distribution system due to shortfalls in the method of delineating the population below the poverty line.
Also, unforeseen circumstances may push people to depend on the PDS but the rigid Government systems may not be able to respond rapidly to this changed circumstance.
flexibility
The universal coverage provides the necessary flexibility in process by making the beneficiaries decide on the level of support that they need.
They can choose to avail of all the items available under the PDS or choose specific commodities that they need from the PDS whether rice and all the other items, or just sugar, or just have a family card while not availing of the benefits.
There are different colour coded cards for each requirement.
The State Government gets a portion of the allocation under the PDS from the Central Pool at prices set by the Centre and sell the commodities at subsidised rates and bears the cost incurred.
Also to meet the added requirement for universal coverage the State Government buys the additional quantities from the market.
Efficient Delivery
Additionally, to ensure the benefits reach the needy and to plug leakages in the system, the State Government has decided to issue biometric based smart cards as family cards during 2012-13.
This will be taken up once the existing family cards run out of validity in December 31, 2011.
As of now, duplication of family members in more than one card and bogus cards is a concern.
The 2011 census pegs the State's population at 7.21 crore but the family cards' database shows the family members at about 8.37 crore indicating about 1.16 crore excess.
This is a huge leakage as the Government spends Rs 2,400 a card every year. A sustained drive to address this issue is on.
Quantities Delivered
The average monthly supply of rice is about 3.46 lakh tonnes; wheat about 20,000 tonnes and wheat flour 4,063 tonnes; Sugar 34,200 tonnes; and kerosene 52,000 kl.
Under the special PDS, the Government also supplies 1 kg of toor and urid dhall/card/month; Fortified palmolien 1 litre; fortified atta 2 kg; and packet of condiments with 50 g each of turmeric powder, chilly powder, Bengal gram, and cumin seeds; and 10 g of ‘garam masala.'
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