India's PDS faces inefficiencies, cash transfers proposed

India gives free rice and wheat to over 800 million people through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

This costs the government a lot of money, around ₹2.05 lakh crore every year.

The problem is that a lot of this food gets lost or stolen before it reaches the people who need it.

It also costs a lot to transport and store the food.

Some experts think it would be better to give the money directly to the people instead of giving them food.

This way, people can buy better food and the government can save money.

They suggest starting this slowly, letting people choose between food and cash, and making sure the money is enough to buy food even if prices go up.

This could help make the system more efficient and give people more power to choose what they eat.