Abstract
India’s tribal population suffers mainly from deprivation and marginalisation. Caught in vicious cycles of poverty and social exclusion, tribals often struggle to survive while opportunities to access information, supplies and essential services elude them. Given this scenario, the present study intends to evaluate and assess the impact of the public distribution system run by the Government of India in a few selected tribal pockets in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the context of food security vis-à-vis the socio-economic situation of tribals. In this process, the study also covers the crucial aspect of a tribal’s right to food from the viewpoint of its availability, accessibility, adequacy and affordability—an area which is still an elusive chimera.
Statement of the Problem
Talking about the meaning of the right to food, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) says that the right to adequate food is realised when every man, woman and child has physical and economic access to adequate food at all times or means for its procurement. A society is said to be food secure when there is access to adequate food for all thus enabling them to lead active and healthy lives. Food security can be assured by a regular supply of food where required; that is, physical access to food and adequate individual purchasing power; that is, economic access to food. Lack of either of these two factors results in food insecurity. In the welfare framework within which Indian democracy works, the state is responsible for ensuring food security to all citizens. Improving food security at the household level is an issue of considerable importance for a developing country like India where millions of people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. It is now widely recognised that food security is not only linked to quality food production, but also, more importantly, to the ability of people to access food and utilise effectively so as to lead a healthy life. It is imperative to also recognise that nutrition security is an important dimension of food security.
India has the world’s largest officially supported food and nutrition security programme. The most noteworthy aspect of the programme is the public distribution system (PDS). It was launched as a programme to help the country cope with emergency situations such as droughts, floods and cyclones, and distribute food items at fair prices to all vulnerable people while also guaranteeing remunerative prices to the farmers. However, until the late 1970s it was confined mainly to urban food deficit areas with an emphasis primarily on price stabilisation. The welfare dimension of the programme, however, became prominent during the 1980s during which time its coverage was extended to rural and tribal areas suffering from a high incidence of poverty. It was during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1997–2002), that PDS targets were shifted to focus on people living below the poverty line or BPL and to increase the availability of food to them. All these changes assigned a new role to the PDS by making it not only an instrument of sustaining food production, but also a mechanism for supplying food grains to consumers at subsidised rates. The significance of this system increased manifold in the case of the tribal poor as their habitations were often difficult to access. Further, their low purchasing capacity prevented them from opting for local market purchases. The volatility of the market further reduced their chances of depending on the market. The role of the state in such circumstances assumed greater significance in providing food security to the tribal poor at the household level.
Despite the elaborate network that is involved in handling massive quantities of food items, the performance of PDS has not been free from criticism. Its universal coverage has drawn adverse comments because of the large subsidy burden on the exchequer. Many researchers have reviewed the system from different angles; its relevance was also questioned on the basis of its urban bias (Dreze & Sen, 2002; George, 1996; Suryanarayana, 1996); inclusion and exclusion errors due to definition problems (Cornia & Stewart, 1995; Dutta & Ramaswamy, 2001; Sen, 1995); large leakages and diversion of PDS commodities to open markets (Dev, 2008; Indrakanth, 1997; Radhakrishna & Rao, 1993; Swaminathan, 2000); lack of timely supplies to the needy (government-issued ID card holders) resulting in less intake of subsidised food grains (Dreze & Reetika, 2012; Mooij, 1999); lack of proper infrastructure and storage facilities (Dev, 2000; Meenakshi, 2001); and malpractices and corruption of PDS staff at various levels (Dev, 2008; Indrakanth, 1997; Swaminathan, 2000). A quick scan of these studies reveals that they covered mostly the cost-benefit aspect of the PDS operating in different states in India, but no research or study has focussed on this problem exclusively in any tribal pockets in the state of Andhra Pradesh (undivided) in an integrated and holistic manner, especially, in the context of right to food and food security. This gap in existing research has encouraged and motivated the current researcher to take up this problem for the present study. Such a study is needed especially in the context of widespread problem of undernutrition and malnutrition prevalent among the Indian tribal population who live at BPL-levels, suffering from deprivation, exclusion and marginalisation. Caught in cycles of poverty, the poor struggle to survive while opportunities to access needed resources like food, health and education eludes them. In this type of environment, moving out of poverty and exclusion lies beyond their personal effort.
Objectives and Methodology of the Study
Given the above scenario, the present study intends to evaluate and assess the overall implementation process of government-run PDS in select tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh against the background of their social exclusion, food security and right to food. In other words, the study examines the role of PDS in terms of providing food security to a selected population in the form of accessibility of the commodities, their availability and affordability for consumers targeted. While identifying their problems in making use of the PDS operations in their communities, the study is also meant to suggest feasible and possible measures for an effective implementation of the programme. In line with the stated objectives, the present study (conducted in 2013 and tailored under an evaluation research design) intended to cover the tribal pockets of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh with the help of a multi-stage sampling device. The rationale behind selection of this district is that it is one of the more backward districts in the north coastal Andhra region, inhabited predominantly by a tribal population that accounts for 14.5 per cent of the total population of the district (4.3 million) according to the 2011 Census. While 57 per cent of the district comes under forest (agency) area, the remaining 43 per cent is a plains area. Further, the district is an abode for about 14 major tribes, the population of which lives in a tropical forest environment under extreme economic backwardness. Only about 30 per cent of the arable and cultivable area of the district is brought under cultivation with the help of minor and medium irrigation systems. The rest of the cultivable area is covered by dry crops depending on the vagaries of the Indian monsoon.
Of the three revenue and administrative divisions of the selected district with a combined total of 43 mandals (sub-districts), Paderu is one such division with 11 mandals, all solely inhabited by tribal folk. In the second stage, while selecting mandals from among these 11 mandals, consideration was given to the literacy rate prevailing in these mandals, since one of the proxy indicators for assessing development is the level of literacy. Accordingly, the researcher selected two mandals, namely, Araku mandal (with the highest literacy rate at 50.8 per cent) and G. Madugula mandal (with the lowest literacy rate at 33 per cent). In the third stage of the sampling design, the researcher selected, on a random basis, two villages from each one of the two selected mandals. Thus, in all, the study covered four selected villages in the tribal pocket. They are Siragam and Bondam from Araku mandal and Korapalli and Vanjari from G. Madugula mandal. In the final stage, the researcher again has randomly selected 30 households from each of the four selected villages. Thus, in all, the present study covered a sample of 120 households (120 white ration card holders under the BPL category). The needed field data has been generated by structured-interview schedules prepared for this purpose and canvassed among the selected 120 white ration card holders, usually among the heads of the households. The data so generated has been pooled, classified, tabulated and analysed keeping in view the aims and objectives of the study. In doing the fieldwork, the researcher, as an outsider, encountered many difficulties such as an inaccessible topography, poor transportation facilities, low levels of cognitive capacity and awareness in the respondents and different sub-cultures. However, with the help, assistance, and cooperation offered by the field staff at the mandal and village levels, the researcher has ultimately succeeded in completing the fieldwork despite difficulties.
Brief Profile of the Studied Area and the Selected Respondents
The major tribes found in the studied area are as follows: Bagata, Konda Dora and Konda Kapu. The economy of these tribes is agro-forest in nature and is largely influenced by the habitat and the level of knowledge accumulated about the natural resources and skills for exploiting them from the forest. Farmers practice both settled as well as shifting cultivations (podu). However, the settled cultivation is found mainly on the sides of hill streams and on plain lands. The wet cultivators grow paddy (rice) in the kharif (monsoon) season only, whereas the shifting cultivators grow mixed crops like millet, pulses and oil seeds. Since these farmers still use crude, primitive tools and technology in their agricultural operations, their yields are low giving them food security for about only six months in a calendar year. Those who collect forest produce like adda leaves, honey, tamarind and so on sell to the government-run Girijan Cooperative Corporation. Their staple food used to be ragi gruel (millet-based), but they are now shifting to rice consumption. Men and women drink alcohol in the form of sara (arrack), jeelugu kallu (sago palm extract) and maddi (rice beer). The food items supplied under the PDS are rice, wheat, sugar and edible oil at subsidised rates. The intake of protein food items is much less than recommended since the consumption of milk and milk products is almost insignificant among them. Similarly, oil consumption is less than optimal. The problems of food and water contamination, nutritional deficiency and inadequate public health facilities contribute in turn to morbidity, mortality and loss of working capacity. In other words, these tribal populations have limited knowledge about health and hygiene and are adamantly resistant to changing their food and drinking habits. Under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Anganwadi centres (local community centres) were established in these areas with a view to increase the nutritional status among pregnant women and children below six years of age by providing some additional high nutritive-value food. But this scheme, just like other government schemes meant for tribal welfare and development, is a failure since the functionaries associated with it are neither paying much interest nor focussing attention on obtaining fruitful results. The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) is trying to increase the energy base in the area by introducing horticulture and commercial crops like turmeric, ginger and maize by providing irrigation through check dams, seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. It is also taking needed steps to reduce soil erosion by means of land levelling and discouraging shift cultivation. Unfortunately, the attitudes of the tribal people towards the efforts initiated by the agency are not favourable, as they oppose any innovation. In short, the tribals lack motivation to participate in the developmental activities and programmes meant for their own improvement. The result is that the available food resources are not sufficient to meet the subsistence levels of the tribals in view of their population growth and simultaneously a stagnation in the resource base.
All studied respondents were males distributed within the age range of 25–65 years, their mean age being 42 years. While 58.3 per cent of them were illiterate, 36.7 per cent studied up to the elementary school level and the rest (5 per cent) studied up to the high school level and beyond. Data related to their main occupations revealed that 49.3 per cent were cultivators, 26.7 per cent were agriculture labourers, 18 per cent belonged to the food gathering and hunting category, and the remaining 6 per cent were engaged in traditional service occupations. While a majority (51.7 per cent) of the respondents had no land at all, 28.3 per cent owned less than 1 acre and the remaining 20 per cent had 1 to 2 acres each. Respondents’ monthly family income ranged between ₹2,000 and ₹4,500, the average being ₹3,100. All the respondents possessed white ration cards and when specifically asked to show their cards, every respondent reacted positively and showed the card with pride. While about 70 per cent live in kaccha (makeshift) houses, 23.3 per cent had semi-pucca (semi-permanent) houses and the rest (6.7 per cent) had pucca abodes. Regarding family type, as many as 66.4 per cent of the respondents live in and maintain nuclear families, and the remaining 33.6 per cent maintain extended family living. When calculated, the respondents’ average family size equalled 4.8 members. The adoption of small family norm was negligible among these tribals since the parents posited positive values on their children.
PDS’ Functioning: From the Right Holders’ Viewpoint
The effectiveness and usefulness of the PDS can be assessed directly from the views and experiences expressed by the consumers of the system. Ration cardholders are the real consumers (right holders) who receive the subsidised food grains of PDS through fair price shops. Therefore, what follows is an analysis and interpretation based on the responses and views of the respondents. An administrative function related to the PDS that needs strengthening is the empowerment of all citizens by making them aware of their entitlement to nutritious food to begin with. A rights-based approach to public services argues that knowledge about entitlements enhances the ability to garner collective action and serves as a ‘weapon in the battle for government accountability’ (Jenkins & Goetz, 1999, p. 606). In this context, it is heartening to note that our respondents are clearly aware of the main objectives of the PDS and have correct perceptions about its goals since a majority (56.7 per cent) feel that serving the poor and vulnerable sections of the population is the main objective behind this programme. While 28.3 per cent perceive that supplying essential commodities at fair prices is the goal, the remaining 15.0 per cent believe that facilitating easy accessibility of the essential commodities to the needy at a single delivery point is the main objective of the PDS (Table 1). Also, most of the respondents (86 per cent) consider the benefits offered under the PDS as their right, not a privilege. The procurement and consumption pattern of people mostly gets affected by the location of PDS fair price shops (ration shops), especially in tribal areas. If such a shop is located far away from the village or hamlet, regular PDS purchases from the ration shop become difficult and inconvenient for purchasers. According to the present data shown in Table 1, as many as 63.3 per cent state that their ration shops are located outside their hamlets or villages, often at a distance of about 4 to 5 km away from them. The basic problem in tribal belts is that card holders have to commute mostly by foot and without any protective footwear to reach these shops and this exercise becomes much more difficult if all the items are not available at a time, especially in the rainy season. Mainly for this reason, while about 42.8 per cent express their satisfaction with the location of their shops, the remaining 57.2 per cent feel unhappy and inconvenienced.
In interior tribal areas, easy accessibility of ration shops and their supply of essential items is still a distant dream. Poor roads, an uneven terrain and a lack of proper transport facilities prevent smooth access to these areas. Given this situation, it becomes difficult for the salesmen even to reach and open their shops daily. According to the official circular, it is mandatory for salesmen to open their shops located anywhere at least twice a week. In tribal areas, these shops are also expected to be opened compulsorily on local market days as per instructions given with such markets occurring four times a month. This arrangement is made since all the people in and around the fair price shop area flock together with money on weekly shanty days to purchase the needed goods and services in addition to ration items. In contrast to the policy, only 21.7 per cent of the respondents reveal that shops are open twice in a week, and then, only when the ration items are available. While 48.3 per cent feel that their shops are open once in a week, the remaining 30 per cent report no such regularity (Table 1). Most respondents also report that ration items are available only on some market days and in the remaining shanty days the ration shops are kept open but the much-needed ration items are often out of stock as reported by salesmen. Vital information such as which days ration shops are open and the list of available ration items is not known to the public in advance since there is no guarantee on the supply side on account of transportation problems, apathy, and the indifferent attitude of concerned personnel involved in the supply chain at the district and mandal levels. This problem is more acutely felt by the public during the rainy season when the demand for supplies increases because it is the off-season for local production and total dependency on the food items supplied by PDS.
Respondents’ Responses on the Objectives of PDS
Almost all respondents report that their traditional staple food, prior to the introduction of the PDS was white maize or chollu or ragulu (millet), along with vegetables. Since they used to mainly cultivate these crops and cereals they were available at much cheaper rates in the local markets.But now they have changed their food habits radically, shifting totally to rice, since rice is available under the PDS at subsidised rates. Local cultivators also have switched over from these traditional dry crops to cash crops. Hence, for these people, the PDS is directly associated with their food security. Despite this, only about 69 per cent of our cardholders are making full use of the PDS by buying their full eligible quota monthly. The remaining 31 per cent are not making use of this facility every month due to various constraints.
The major problem for them as reported before is a lack of much-needed advance information about the days and times that the ration shops are open and the availability of ration items. Usually such information is passed only by oral communication and thus there is a high probability that many will miss such information. To further complicate matters, ration items are often not available in the PDS shops when the local people possess the needed money to purchase them. In addition, all ration items are not available on any one single day, and the ones that are available (rice) are supplied in two instalments since these tribal people cannot purchase everything at one time. To purchase each item supplied to them on an instalment basis and on different days and times is a tedious and inconvenient process to manage and plan for local tribal populations. Hence most of our respondents expressed their inability and helplessness in making use of the PDS fully and regularly. When our respondents were probed further to identify specifically the reasons for the non-availability of rations to some cardholders every month, they responded clearly (here multiple responses were allowed). An analysis revealed that for as many as 70 per cent, the lack of availability of all items at one time is one of the reasons. While 55 per cent feel that a lack of availability of supplies when they have the money is another reason; for 45 per cent it is the lack of money at the time of availability of the supplies. For 81.7 per cent, the reason is the irregular supply by dealers and 35 per cent complained against the indifferent attitudes of salesmen in not passing on information about the supplies to them on time (Table 2). Due to this sad circumstance, most respondents reveal their anguish by stating that every month the stock supplied under every item is not sold to the card holders completely. The dishonest dealers successfully divert this stock balance to local merchants through the black market, earning easy and quick profits for themselves. This game is going on with the collusion and nexus between vigilance personnel, local black marketeers, dealers and local political leaders for the advantage of all. As a result, the irony of this situation, repeated by all the respondents, is that the stock sold by the local retail merchants is actually what is meant for the PDS. Those unfortunate enough to require an additional quantity of rice or kerosene on special occasions, or those who cannot purchase the quota in time, are forced to purchase these items at local shops at higher prices. So finally the stock meant for targetted beneficiaries is not reaching them and most of the time the effected cardholders feel that they are victims of the system.
Reasons for Non-availability of Ration to Card Holders
Under the targetted PDS, each white card holder is provided with a maximum of 20 kg of rice, 2 kg sugar, 3 litres of kerosene and 2 litres of edible oil per month at subsidised prices. But only 28.3 per cent are satisfied with the quality of items supplied and their weights. While a majority of 56.7 per cent are totally dissatisfied both with the quality and weight of the items provided, the rest 15.0 per cent could not say anything about the issue. Their dissatisfaction and frustration is due to pilferage, the under-weighing of items, as well as the inferior quality of supplies. When questioned, the dealers/salesmen blame officials at higher levels for substandard quality and attribute the under-weight problem to leakages occurring during transportation between the district headquarters and the village endpoint leading consumers bearing the burden and sharing the loss caused on the supply side. The analysis of data further revealed that as many as 71.7 per cent are not satisfied with the quantity of quota fixed for all the items under the PDS. Again, of those dissatisfied respondents, 48.8 per cent had a family size of six or more members, followed by 32.6 per cent who had four to five members each; the remaining 18.6 per cent had only 3 or less each. Thus, the respondents’ family size seems to have a direct bearing on their dissatisfaction regarding the fixed quantity of items being supplied as expected. Similarly, of those 71.7 per cent who are not satisfied with the fixed quantity of quota being supplied, a significant majority (66.7 per cent) had a monthly family income of less than ₹4,000 each and the remaining 33.3 per cent belonged to the income category of ₹4,000 and above each, per month. This also explains the fact that the respondent’s income level has a bearing on the levels of dissatisfaction with the quantity of items being supplied as expected. It is also pertinent to note that for 62.8 per cent of the respondents, price variations of the items supplied between the local markets and ration shops alone acts as a major impetus for them to opt for ration (PDS) items. However, the remaining 37.2 per cent feel that the prices are low since the quality is poor and, hence they see no advantage in procuring ration items.
Data regarding problems frequently encountered by respondents while purchasing ration items at the PDS fair price shops as presented in Table 3 reveal unexpected responses. While for 38.3 per cent, repeat visits to these shops for each item is the main problem, 30.8 per cent feel that irregular supplies and open times as practised by dealers and salesmen is the main irritant. About 18.4 per cent complain that a heavy rush and long waiting lines at fair price shops when delivering goods is a common problem. The remaining 12.5 per cent report that delays, corruption and favouritism on the part of salesmen are the most crucial problems they experience at the shop levels.
Customer satisfaction on prices, supplies and service is the main expectations from PDS. In this context, one notices from the data that while a significant majority, 73.3 per cent of respondents, expressed their satisfaction on the price front, 81.6 per cent were not satisfied with the supply and another 85 per cent were displeased and unhappy with the service provided (Table 4). This is quite an important and pertinent finding which ultimately suggests that all is not well with the PDS in tribal pockets. It reveals that even though the intentions of the government in operating a PDS appears to be admirable, problems associated with its implementation at the final distribution point or at the shop level are coming in the way of reaping positive benefits by the targetted poor and needy. As a result of all these problems, a significant number of the tribal population, especially children and mothers, are experiencing acute malnutrition due to food scarcity and the lack of a nutritious diet. The data collected reveals that 29 per cent of children below 14 years of age and 36 per cent of mothers are suffering from malnutrition ranging from mild to severe levels.
Respondents’ Problems while Purchasing Ration Items
Respondents’ Opinions on the PDS
When asked the question: ‘In the past 30 days did you feel worried because there was not enough food in the household?’, a sizeable majority of the respondents (68 per cent) responded in the affirmative. Similarly, while 35 per cent reveal that they and their children ate food which is not adequate at all two or three times during the last month, 28 per cent confess that they have borrowed food several times from their neighbours to meet their needs during the same reference period.
All respondents reveal their lack of knowledge and awareness about the recent Food Security Bill passed by the Indian Parliament and subsequent changes being contemplated by the government in the PDS. When asked, some respondents offer useful, practical and pertinent suggestions for improving the overall functioning of the PDS: ration shops should be housed in pucca buildings with separate doors for entry and exits; ration items to be pre-packed after a weight check and kept ready for delivery at the shop level to control pilferage and under-weighing; number of fair price shops to be increased wherever needed and both the quality as well as the quantity of food items to be improved.
Discussion and Suggestions
The study focusses on food security among the tribal poor and throws light on the crucial aspects of the socio-economic situation of people which reflects their long and short-term food security situations. It is they, with their resilience and culture, who can survive harsh conditions. Degraded conditions of natural resources and paucity of land combined with unskilled human resources within tribal communities have brought their economy to the brink. The tribals seek various options with their own initiative, but these offer very little security or long-term sustainability. They have walked a tightrope of subsistence for centuries, and it would be a huge mistake to take for granted that they will continue to accept to do so. Even though a strong kinship system prevails among these tribal folk, its support structure in crisis situations is weak since all of them experience problems similarly with no significant difference among them. These tribals have a weak political voice with poor articulation, made worse by a lack of education which deprives them of any measure of confidence in countering the hegemony of the upper-class elite who have entrenched themselves in tribal pockets. Despite provisions for local governance and opportunities they get because of protective discrimination policies adopted by the government, the participation of tribal populations in decision making is very poor. Government intervention has had little positive or constructive impact on the food security situation of this unfortunate lot. Some innovative schemes and programmes have been thought of by administrators, but due to a lack of control at the time of implementation, these innovations are often countered by new methods of misappropriation and exploitation. This is truly a sad state of affairs, as much can be done if there is a real effort on the part of the government and the officials involved in India’s PDS.
Food security has become a new strategy for development planners. There are many formulas, plans and calculations for food security. But in the tribal regions, it is important to understand the real causes behind their food insecurity. There is a substantial gap between what the state (PDS) is offering and what the local people actually need. Even though a significant majority of the respondents were satisfied on the price front of the commodities being supplied, they were not happy on the supply front as well as on the service front. Hence in the food security debates, the analysis offered by pundits generally focusses on the supply side. In the rights approach, one has to go beyond the supply side and focus more on the demand side. In other words, the supply of food and nutrition is important but, as a right, the demand side is more important. Unless citizens demand the right to food, governments may not fulfil their obligations (Parikh, 2013). What is really needed is a well concerted and coordinated effort and activities among citizens, rights activists, NGOs and related national and international organisations to achieve these goals. However, the absence of such coordination cannot justify the non-fulfilment of an obligation by individual governments (Agarwal & Mander, 2013). Therefore, to improve the food security situation among the tribals in general, and in the studied area in particular, some of the specific suggestions are indicated here.
It is recognised and accepted by tribals that the PDS is one of the most important welfare programmes to protect them from food insecurity in adverse conditions. At the same time, they are dissatisfied with the quantity of food grains being supplied and its quality. Hence, in addition to rice, each cardholder should also be provided with a minimum quantity of maize, chollu and ragulu (millets) according to their choice so that they will be ensured with sufficiency as well as adequate nutritional efficiency. Since wheat consumption is low as reported by these tribals, most of them are not purchasing it as supplied under PDS. In its place, the rice quota may be increased to meet the demand.
Also, to be considered is that PDS should be supported and supplemented with other linked programmes, such as employment generation programmes and food for work programmes, to ensure food security while improving their purchasing capacity. In the studied area, these programmes, for reasons not known to them, have not yet been introduced. When asked, local leaders reacted by saying that these programmes are on the cards and will be introduced soon as promised by the district and state leaders. There is a need also to coordinate efforts and activities of PDS with NGOs, Girijan Cooperative Corporation, the ITDA and ICDS by networking with them to ensure regular delivering of services and supplies to those in the needy, isolated and excluded category.
The salesmen of fair price shops (duty bearers) form an important link between dealers at mandal (sub-district) levels and local consumers at shop levels, and they are key to managing effectively all the activities associated with running the shops. But their low wages, lack of incentives for working in interior forest agency areas, combined with tedious government procedures involved in operating the PDS shops in such tribal areas all contribute to their lack of interest and motivation in performing their duties properly. These very same reasons instead often compel them to indulge in malpractices for their own personal gain and survival. The suggestions they offered to improve the PDS apparatus and its efficiency are: a minimisation of political interference at all levels; timely delivery of the stocks of all ration items on a regular basis and on stipulated dates; improvement of their wages/allowances/incentives; allowance to sell non-rationed items needed by the locals to improve the economic viability in maintaining these shops; introduction of pre-packed and pre-weighed sales of the ration items and assistance in tackling corruption of and harassment by their supervisors and vigilance personnel. Concerned authorities should take these suggestions into account to revamp the system for improving its efficiency. However, as long as the apparatus used by the PDS is the same with no reforms made, it is not possible to ensure food security to the needy even when additional benefits under the new Food Security Bill are introduced with new labels and nomenclatures. By its conception, the PDS is competent enough in providing food security to the needy, but due to its mismanagement coupled with malpractices in its implementation along the supply chain, it is unable to fulfil its intended objectives. Hence there is an urgent need to reform the existing apparatus to improve its efficiency in delivering goods.
The restriction of the PDS to BPL households has proven to be quite problematic, since there is currently no reliable way of identifying them in this category. There is therefore a growing pressure for a more inclusive and universal PDS as suggested by Himanshu and Sen (2011) and Dreze and Khera (2012). Reforms to the PDS in Chhattisgarh state that focussed on extending coverage, improving delivery and increasing transparency and accountability has led to its remarkable revival (Raghav, 2012). Perhaps other states should also follow these reforms along similar lines as soon as possible.
Ultimately there is an immediate need to adopt a multifaceted approach for improving food and nutrition security in the country, especially amongst tribals. Apart from policies at the national level, there is an urgent necessity for conceiving and implementing location-specific policies and programmes at state, district and regional levels as problems of hunger and food insecurity may differ from place to place. However, achieving freedom from hunger still remains one of the highest challenges in democratically free India. To conclude, the present study shows that the issue of food security needs to be seen with a holistic perspective, taking into account both the micro and macro aspects of hunger and nutrition. In such a comprehensive food security system, the state is responsible for ensuring that every needy person has economic as well as physical access to food and nutrition—thereby realising every person’s right to food.
It is hoped that this study and its findings will be useful in placing the issue of food security on centrestage as well as in formulating appropriate strategies and policies in moving towards a more food secure India. In this context, there is need to bring together human rights thinking, exemplified by food as a human right and development thinking through poverty reduction efforts. Therefore, measures to reduce poverty and steps to respect human rights have to be evolved in tandem, sharing the same in the overall aim of increased human wellbeing, even though they might have different frameworks and tools for reaching this goal. Ultimately it is to be acknowledged that right to employment is crucial for achieving right to food and that without achieving right to food, it is difficult to achieve food security.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
This article is a product of the major research project: Taking Public Distribution System to the Tribal and Rural Poor: A Study in the Context of their Right to Food and Food Security, funded by the University Grants Commission and carried out by the author during his Emeritus fellowship period, the report of which was submitted to the UGC. The author is grateful to the UGC in this regard.