Is Bengal’s PDS doing well?

This presentation is based on the findings of the sample surveys on the Public Distribution System (PDS), conducted in rural West Bengal and six other states Focus is on the performance of the Public Distribution System after the implementation of the National Food Security Act (2013) Conducted by student investigators in June ’16, July ’16 and September ’16 under Prof. Jean Dreze and Dr Reetika Khera Investigators went from house to house and enquired about people’s ration cards, PDS (Public Distribution System) food grain purchases, and related matters

The Survey: West Bengal 7 states- Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Tripura The sample villages in West Bengal: Bankura- Machila, Surbhaga Band, Kiasol and Dhobargram Birbhum- Chak Dhara, Beran and Paikpara Within a sample village, the investigators covered all households In West Bengal, 618 households and 2,997 individuals were covered

Bengal’s PDS before NFSA Evolution of the Public Distribution System PDS, till 1992, was untargeted RPDS (1992) to improve the reach Launch of TPDS (1997) and AAY (2000) with specific target Bengal’s PDS before NFSA PDS leakages: 81% (2004-05) PDS leakages: 65% (2011-12) Food security coverage (BPL and AAY) 48% before NFSA.

National Food Security Act (2013) Objective: Food and nutritional security Coverage: Upto 75% (rural population) and 50% (urban population) West Bengal: 2015 Category Foodgrain Entitlement (in kgs) Price (per kg) Priority, Special Priority and RKSY-1 5 per person Rs. 2 (Rice), Rs. 3.50 (Atta) & Rs. 2 (Wheat) Antyodaya Anna Yojana 35 per household Rs. 2 (Rice) & Rs. 2 (Wheat) RKSY- 2 2 per person Rs. 9 (Rice) & Rs. 13 (Atta)

Household Checklist (Part 1)

Household Checklist (Part 2)

Selected Survey Findings: West Bengal Food Security Coverage Proportion of sample households with a ration card (%) [Before NFSA (BPL, AAY)] [After NFSA (PHH, SPHH, RKSY-1, AAY)] West Bengal 48 87 Source: House-to-house survey of 618 households in 7 randomly selected villages in two districts

Selected Survey Findings: West Bengal Entitlements and Actual Purchases Average Purchase of PDS foodgrains, as % of entitlments (preceding month) (normal month) West Bengal 94 95 Notes: All households under Priority, Special Priority, RKSY-1 and AAY are considered “Entitlements” refers to what a household is entitled as per its ration card Source: House-to-house survey of 618 households in 7 randomly selected villages in two districts.

Selected Survey Findings: West Bengal Exclusion (“missing names”) and Quality of PDS Grain Proportion of “missing names” in ration cards (%) Proportions of households who felt quality of PDS grain is “good” or “fair” (%) West Bengal 12 54 Notes: Priority, Special Priority and RKSY-1 households are considered; missing names = household member not received the card Source: House-to-house survey of 618 households in 7 randomly selected villages in two districts.

Case Study: Dhobargram House-to-house survey (2015): 29 households with BPL or AAY card House-to-house survey (July, 2016): 91 households on NFSA list Major gains are possible if the NFSA is well implemented!

NFSA Survey 2016: Selected Findings Proportion of sample households with a ration card (%) (after NFSA) Average purchase of PDS food grains, as % of entitlements (normal month) Proportion of “missing names” in ration cards (%) Tripura 63 99 11 Chhattisgarh 95 97 15 Odisha 88 8 Madhya Pradesh 84 98 6 West Bengal 87 12 Jharkhand 76 55 Bihar 83 17 Notes: All households under NFSA are considered. Source: House –to-house survey of 4,179 households in 48 randomly selected villages/hamlets across 7 states .

Is Bengal’s PDS doing well? Rank according to the ‘Average purchase of PDS food grains, as % of entitlements’ Rank according to the ‘Proportion of “missing names” in ration cards (%)’ Odisha 1 2 Tripura 3 Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh 4 5 West Bengal Jharkhand 6 Bihar 7 Notes: All households under NFSA are considered. Source: House –to-house survey of 4,179 households in 48 randomly selected villages/hamlets across 7 states .

Is Bengal’s PDS doing well? Latest entrant in the league of successful PDS reformers Expansion of food security coverage [87% (2016) from 48% (2014)] Transparent and methodical NFSA list Drastic simplification in the ‘entitlement’ system Sharp decline in PDS leakages (5% in a ‘normal month’)

Is Bengal’s PDS doing well? Exclusion error & proportion of “missing names” (12%) Poor quality of PDS grains (54% positive responses) Lack of accountability of private dealers PDS licenses are even hold hereditarily! Sustainability and consolidation of reforms?

Suggestions Simplify the system to a 3 category system State(s) to observe: Tripura Simplify the eligibility criteria Revise the NFSA list State(s) to observe: Odisha, Tripura

Suggestions Improve the quality of PDS flour packets Uniform provision of rice, a solution? Uniform pricing (Rs 2/kg) for all PDS grains State(s) to observe: Odisha, Tripura, and Chhattisgarh Gradual de-privatization of the PDS shops Community driven tech-based solutions, an alternative! State(s) to observe: Chhattisgarh

Findings are tentative: Assembly elections and a small sample Food security, a lively political issue! PDS has improved in West Bengal, but it’s still not up to the mark. PDS reforms, durable or short-lived? Thank you!