What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops?

Food secured by FCI is appropriated to the poor through apportion shops, which have been set up in most of towns, towns, and urban areas. This is a piece of the public authority’s Public Distribution System (PDS), which is the main move toward guaranteeing the country’s food security. Nonetheless, there have as of late been various issues with the proportion shops’ administration.

These are as per the following:

• The proportioned products given to the penniless are of low quality contrasted with what they can get. Subsequently, the poor should depend available to address their issues.
• Some apportion shop owners enjoy shameless direct. To augment their benefit, they illicitly redirect the grains to the open market.
• Some proportion shops can’t sell their second rate grains, bringing about a misfortune for them.
• Since certain sellers don’t open their stores consistently, destitute individuals can’t accept their apportion amount on time.
• The PDS plot has been more muddled with the presentation of variety coded cards and three distinct rates for similar article to various gatherings.
  • Since APL cardholders get next to no limit at the proportion shops, they have lost their advantage to buy these things from the apportion shops.
  • Some of the proportion shop vendors gauge less and cheat the ignorant poor, while some others sell the main bad quality of grains.

The three kinds of proportion cards gave by the Public Distribution System are as per the following:

• Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) apportion card: This proportion card is simply accessible to the most unfortunate of poor people. This card is utilized to recognize neediness stricken families with fluctuating pay. Consistently, these cardholders are qualified for 35 kilograms of food grain; wheat costs Rs. 2 for every kilogram, rice costs Rs. 3 for every kilogram, and coarse grain costs Rs. 1 for each kilogram.
• Beneath Poverty Line (BPL) proportion card: This apportion card is given to individuals who are very nearly being devastated. BPL card holders are qualified for reduced cost food grains of 10 kg to 20 kg each month for every family. The state legislatures set the decent costs for wheat, rice, sugar, and different items per kilogram.
• Above Poverty Line (APL) apportion card: This card is given to individuals who are over the destitution line. These cardholders can get 10 to 20 kilograms of food grains every month for their families. The state government sets the costs for lamp fuel oil, sugar, wheat, and rice.

The focal government offers wheat and rice to states and association regions at uniform focal issues costs (CIP) for dissemination under the TPDS. Starting around 2000, the issue costs for food grains in the AAY and BPL classes, as well as the CIP in the APL classifications, have stayed consistent.

The divergence between the cost (MSP in addition to dealing with and transporting costs) and the issue cost at which the buyer buys food grains is alluded to as the food endowment. Food sponsorships are repaid to FCI and state legislatures, and they are responsible for getting and conveying food grains to states at CIP. The cradle sponsorship is remembered for the food endowment, which is the cost paid by FCI and states for keeping support stocks longer than the predetermined time span.

There have been many occurrences where sellers in the Public Distribution System (PDS) have been enjoying acts of neglect.

• To get higher edges, these sellers have been viewed as redirecting the grains to the open market.
•  Vendors open the apportion shops at unpredictable times.
• Low quality grains are sold at proportion shops by the sellers.
• Generally found apportion shops have supplies of low quality grains which are unsold.
• This has demonstrated to be a significant issue with proportion shops.
• At Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns, huge supplies of food grains stack up when apportion shops can’t sell the food grains.
• One more component has prompted decay of the Public Distribution System (PDS), in the new past.
• At first every one of the non-poor and unfortunate families had proportion cards, which gave a proper quantity of things, for example, sugar, wheat, rice and so on.
• Each family got them at a similar low cost.
• Nowadays, there are three distinct kinds of cards and various scopes of costs which didn’t exist prior.
• There is a proper share, food grains could be bought from the proportion shops by numerous families.
• Families which had low salaries yet were imperceptibly higher wages when analyzed Below Poverty Line families were likewise included.
• Presently, any family over the destitution line barely gets any rebate at apportion shops.
• There are not really any motivations for the APL family to purchase from proportion shops as the costs are practically equivalent to showcase cost.

Sample Questions

Question 1: What are the advantages of ration shops?

Answer:

They help at stabilizing food prices and making food available to consumers at affordable prices.

Question 2: How many types of ration cards are there in India?

Answer:

Government of India recognizes 4 types of ration cards in India. Blue ration card, pink ration card, white card, Antyodaya Anna scheme ration card.