Abstract
The Public Distribution System (PDS) of India plays a crucial role in reducing food insecurity by acting as a safety net by distributing essentials at a subsidised rate. While the PDS forms a cornerstone of government food and nutrition policy, India continues to be home to a large population of hungry and malnourished people. This review seeks to explore the functioning and efficiency of the PDS in achieving food and nutritional security in India. A comprehensive and systematic search using the key terms “food insecurity” OR “food security” AND “Public Distribution System” OR “PDS” OR “TPDS” AND “India” identified 23 articles which met the inclusion criteria. This review draws attention to the lack of published literature in areas of PDS and food security in India. The findings of the review emphasise the role of PDS in tackling hunger and malnutrition while highlighting its limited role in improving food security and childhood mortality due to operational inefficiencies. The PDS has the potential to act as a solution to food insecurity in India if the operational inefficiencies and environmental footprints are addressed by adequate policy reforms.
Highlights
Food insecurity is a situation of limited access to safe and healthy food [1], while food security refers to a situation when ‘all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’ [2]
The Public Distribution System (PDS) has the potential to act as a solution to food insecurity in India if the operational inefficiencies and environmental footprints are addressed by adequate policy reforms
The PDS is a cornerstone of government policy responding to nutrition and food security
Summary
Food insecurity is a situation of limited access to safe and healthy food [1], while food security refers to a situation when ‘all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’ [2]. The experience of food insecurity has been found to be more severe in low-income communities, and for those who already experience poor health [4,5]. While factors contributing to poverty are important when considering food insecurity, it is not the only determinant. The distribution of food across populations, countries, and regions, unstable political conditions, and climate change induced adverse environmental conditions including severe droughts, lack of water, and soil degradation and erosion [1,6,7,8,9].
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