Impact of Public Distribution System in Haryana

The Public Distribution System is one of the most important elements in India's safety net systems for more than sixty years. It is one of the main vehicles through which Government of India delivers ‘Food Security’ to the vulnerable people of the country. The aim of the research paper is to assess the effectiveness of Public Distribution System in Haryana. For this purpose, a survey was undertaken to assess the ground reality of Public Distribution System at beneficiaries level in four districts of Haryana, viz, Panchkula, Mewat, Bhiwani and Panipat. These four districts were selected from each of the four divisions of Haryana on the basis of per capita income above and below the State average income. The study tries to unravel different issues with regard to implementation of Public Distribution System in the State. This research evaluates the effectiveness of Public Distribution System in Haryana. The study describes the responses of the beneficiaries and their satisfaction with regard to the timeliness and accessibility of the system. The study used percentage method to estimate the effectiveness of Public Distribution System and its indirect benefits as a window for the poor to escape poverty. The findings of the study suggest that there are a lot of bottlenecks on the way to gain the desired objectives of the Public Distribution System, even so, it has great relevance in the field of food security to the poor and marginalized. The Haryana government has taken a number of initiatives to make the system pro-poor by innovating Public Distribution System. The study draws strong conclusions in favour of Public Distribution System as an effective tool in serving the vulnerable sections of the State. The study also established that, the effectiveness of Public Distribution System has improved over time.