Food security: PDS, ration, and hunger debates

India's Public Distribution System distributes subsidised foodgrains through fair price shops. The National Food Security Act, 2013, turned much of this system into a legal entitlement, covering up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population. On the 2011 Census, that ceiling corresponds to 81.35 crore people. A government answer in Parliament in August 2026 stated that states and Union Territories had identified 79.08 crore people against that ceiling as of 16 July 2026.

Under the Act, Antyodaya Anna Yojana households, among the poorest, receive 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month, while other priority households receive 5 kg per person per month. Since January 2024, foodgrains under the merged Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana framework have been provided free, with the extension running to December 2028 according to government summaries. The Centre, largely through the Food Corporation of India, procures grain, while states identify beneficiaries and run shops. One Nation One Ration Card portability was designed to help migrants draw grain outside their home state.

Supporters argue that a grain entitlement protects households from price shocks, especially when work is seasonal or irregular. Critics raise distinct concerns. First, targeting errors can exclude eligible people and include ineligible ones, particularly when lists still rest on the 2011 Census despite changed population and migration patterns. Second, leakage and diversion, though reduced by digitisation in many places, remain a concern in parts of the system; the Shanta Kumar Committee in 2015 estimated leakage at 40–50%, rising to 60–70% in some states, an older estimate that should not be treated as a current national figure. Third, a cereal-centred ration may secure calories while leaving gaps in protein, vegetables, and micronutrients.

A further debate is grain versus cash. Cash supporters say households can choose food and reduce storage and transport losses. Grain supporters say cash may be eroded by inflation, spent under household pressure, or fail where markets are thin. Hunger is also measured in different ways, from calorie availability and dietary diversity to children's growth outcomes, so claims that hunger has risen or fallen often depend on the indicator chosen. The same system can thus look successful on grain delivered and incomplete on nutrition achieved.