The food ministry on Tuesday refuted a recent study which had pegged annual leakages in the public distribution system (PDS) at Rs 69,000 crore, saying it was fundamentally flawed and unsubstantiated, owing to significant discrepancies in the data interpretation and methodology.
The study by ICRIER had arrived at the quantum of leakage in the PDS by taking into account the monthly offtake of grain by states under free ration scheme or Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and aligning it with the reference period of the Household Expenditure Survey (HCES), 2022-23.
“HCES data includes cereal consumption from multiple sources, such as state-specific schemes and private purchases, which complicates any direct correlation with PDS offtake,” according to a food ministry note.
The ministry has stated that the offtake figures account for stocks in transit, buffer allocations, operational reserves and stocks allocated for other social welfare schemes, open market sales etc. “Offtake figures should not be confused with PDS stocks used for distribution in households. By failing to account for these distinctions, the report’s leakage estimates are fundamentally flawed,” according to the note.
The study titled ‘rationalising public distribution system in India’ has estimated the grain leakage under the PMGKAY at 17 million tonne (MT) of rice and 3 MT of wheat or 28% of the 71 MT of grain offtake by states during August 2022- July, 2023.
“The claim that 28% of food grains do not reach beneficiaries lacks a sound basis, given the operational safeguards in place,” according to the ministry.
The ministry has stated that approximately, 98% of the distribution of food grains under National Food Security Act (NFSA) is being done using Aadhaar authentication mitigating any risk of pilferage which has already been shown above. All the transactions in PDS are made through electronic-point of sale (PoS) machines installed at close to 5 lakh outlets, it stated.