The quantum of PDS rice lost in distribution could have fed approximately 21.67 lakh families, if one is to go by the State’s traditional thumb rule of 20 kg of rice per family per month.

T. Ramakrishnan

Tamil Nadu was estimated to have suffered a loss of ₹1,900 crore during 2022-23 through leakages in the supply of rice under the public distribution system (PDS), according to a perusal of the findings of a country-wide study of the status of public distribution system.

Published by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) recently and authored by Raya Das, Ranjana Roy, and Ashok Gulati, the study’s report put the figure of leakage at 5.2 lakh tonne that accounted for 15.8% of the total quantity of rice reported to have been supplied through PDS. The economic cost of rice for the year in question — ₹3,670 per quintal for rice — was considered by the authors.

The quantum of PDS rice lost in distribution could have fed approximately 21.67 lakh families, if one is to go by the State’s traditional thumb rule of 20 kg of rice per family per month. However, under the National Food Security Act of 2013, every person is entitled to have five kg per month. As on May 31, 2024, Tamil Nadu had about 2.2 crore rice-drawing ration cards. 

For the purpose of calculation of the estimates, the authors aligned the data of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23, the first such exercise after the Act came into force, with the monthly offtake data from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from August 2022 to July 2023. The data included distributions under the NFSA, tide-over, non-NFSA State-level allocations and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

The State can draw comfort in a couple of aspects from the study. It has been placed among the States which have lower estimates of leakage. To be precise, from the bottom, it is at the spot of last but seventh.  However, the proportion of leakage in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana is lower than that of Tamil Nadu. The figures are 6.2%, 1%, and 0.5%, respectively. At the all-India level, approximately 20 million tonne of rice and wheat failed to reach their intended recipients. This amounted to a financial loss of about ₹69,108 crore.

Notwithstanding the findings of the study, the Tamil Nadu government has been taking steps to reduce the scope of the leakage through various measures. Between January 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, the Civil Supplies CID seized about 42,500 quintals of smuggled PDS rice, which was valued at around ₹2.4 crore. “As the family card is issued based on Aadhaar, the bogus family card circulation is completely eradicated,” stated the policy note of the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection department for 2024-25.

Published Date: November 20, 2024