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Accepted Paper:
Digitalisation of the Public Distribution System of India: A boon or bane for the poor
Christina Sathyamala
(Institute for Human Development)
Somjita Laha
Digitalisation of the PDS in India is likely to lead to a lack of transparency and exclusion of the most disadvantaged households. Data for this come from media analysis of two popular Hindi newspapers.
Paper long abstract:
The Public Distribution System (PDS) of India is one of the largest food assistance programmes in the world that provides selected foodstuffs at subsidized rates to the vulnerable sections of the population. In 2013 it changed from universal provisioning to targeting households that were below poverty line, i.e., 75% of rural and 50% of the urban population and in 2015 it was brought under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme. This scheme entails the transfer of cash equivalents of subsidy amounts directly into the bank accounts of eligible households to enable them to purchase food grains in the open market. By 2020 the PDS was digitalised throughout the country. The government claims that digitalisation of PDS has reduced corruption, leakage and has increased efficiency and improved food security of the targeted populations. However, this paper will argue that a technological system that links bank accounts, unique identification numbers (Aadhaar cards) and mobile phone numbers, in fact is more likely to lead to a lack of transparency and exclusion of the most disadvantaged households. Data for this come from media analysis. News from two popular newspapers in Hindi, one, that is widely read in an urban resettlement colony in New Delhi and another in a rural area in Chhattisgarh, a state that is classified as an economically backward, will be analysed.