Abolish the PDS shops

Sudipto Mundle writes in the TOI:

• How "....the poor through which food and all other BPL entitlements can be channelled. The Radhakrishna committee on credit-related issues under SGSY has reported that such institutions are in embryonic form in women's self-help groups (SHGs), especially in some southern states. Initially set up with government support as collective entities to receive small loans, Kudumbasree in Kerala and Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty in Andhra are now multitasking, taking on a range of different activities. The Weaver's Development Corporation is playing a similar role in Tamil Nadu. If these SHGs are used for distributing PDS grain, BPL cards or NREGA job cards, we would see a sharp improvement in the effectiveness of a whole range of anti-poverty programmes, including the right to food."