Published Paper Details:

Abstract: India has achieved self-sufficiency in foodgrains production, but the accessibility to food by the poor has been a major problem. The mere availability of food with government agencies is of little use if it is not accessible by the poor and those who need it most. The accessibility to the PDS foodgrains depends on both demand and supply-side factors. Perception and awareness at the household level play a crucial role in asserting their demand for their entitlement. Well aware and informed households bargain effectively with Fair Price Shops (FPS) dealers, assert their demand, and not let their PDS quota without purchase. Awareness among the households is low in the district, and households get confused about prices, quantity, and commodities. The PDS dealers have been the main source of confusion for the cardholders. The use of technology in the PDS may lower corruption and improve PDS functioning, but it created some hurdles for the cardholders and some points of times become the source of exclusion for the households. Aadhaar Based Biometric Authentication through the �Point of Scale� (PoS) machine created many hurdles for the beneficiaries. An alternative system to the PoS machine should be there to authenticate the beneficiaries. The government agencies and the NGOs should come forward to create mass level awareness among the cardholders to curve out the leakages and every form of corruption from the PDS.