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The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for the application of blockchain in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India to manage the supply of food grains to the targeted beneficiaries. The framework will help prevent diversions and leakages of grains at the warehouse and Fair Price Shop (FPS) level. The paper also identifies the enablers and disablers in the context of the framework.

This paper will firstly review the previous literature in PDS and blockchain-enabled agricultural and food supply chains. The study then proposes a framework that could be implemented in the PDS in India using blockchain technology.

The proposed framework provides an effective way to combat corruption, exclusion errors of targeted beneficiaries, leakage of PDS food grains and is cost-effective. The identified enablers and disablers give an insight into the application of blockchain in PDS in India.

The research work may have implications for the Ministry of Food and PDS (Central Government), Food Corporation of India and State Governments to manage the supply of the grains more efficiently and effectively.

The current study caters to the implementation of blockchain technology starting from the warehouse level to the FPSs and consumers and simultaneously connecting them to concerned authorities to ensure transparency and accountability.

The purpose of this paper is to model the distribution stage of the public distribution system (PDS) and optimize the inventory policy during this stage of the PDS to address some of the inefficiencies present in the system. This study models this supply chain as a multistage supply chain consisting of storage depots, issue centers, fair price shops and card holders.

A two-stage modeling approach is used to model the distribution stage in the PDS. In the first stage, the authors developed a simulation model for periodic review-based stock policy with appropriate assumptions. This helped minimize the total supply chain cost (TSCC). The TSCC consists of three cost elements, namely, ordering cost, holding cost and shortage cost. These three cost elements, in turn, depend on inventory policy parameters, such as review periods and base stock levels, at various echelons. In the second stage, a Genetic Algorithm based optimization approach was used.

A set of optimal policy parameters was identified. It is observed that base stock levels at issue centers are higher as compared to those in the FPS and the TSCC is less in scenario, when backorder cost is equal to the holding cost.

Present study will be useful to policy makers in improving PDS performance. This optimization of inventory policies helps actors in the PDS supply chain to choose appropriate policy parameters in the present inventory policy so as to reduce the overall distribution cost.

Unlike the previous researchers who examined the PDS from the social security perspective and tried to address specific problems to improve functioning of the PDS, this study looked at the problem as a supply chain-related problem and optimized the inventory parameters in one of the subsets of the PDS supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to find the determinants of participation and targeting efficiency of the following safety net programs in West Bengal: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), self-targeted program; National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), subsidy based livelihood program; Indira Awaas Yojona (IAY), targeted cash transfer program and Public Distribution System (PDS), targeted in kind transfer program.

The study is based on a household survey comprising 900 households across three Districts: Murshidabad, Nadia and Burdwan.

Benefits from MNREGA and PDS are not substantial, whereas financial benefits are substantial from NRLM and IAY. This paper shows that poor people have higher likelihood of participation in MNREGA and PDS. But, non poor get disproportionate benefits from IAY and NRLM both have been designed for the poor. Therefore, targeting cannot remove elite capture altogether. Socially down trodden section have higher participation in MNREGA and PDS, whereas people who are at upper tier of social hierarchy enjoy the benefits of IAY and NRLM. However, it cannot be said that these programs miss their target completely.

The study suffers from the usual limitations of sampling.

Programs targeted for the poor are being appropriated by the non poor. If there is better targeting money will be channelized to the desired beneficiaries and welfare will be enhanced.

The study has unearthed the underlying reasons behind why some safety net programs have better targeting and some safety net programs have poor targeting.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for mapping the Indian Public Distribution System (PDS) using multi-agent system (MAS). The entire PDS supply chain from purchase to the distribution is mapped in detail by integrating stages of PDS supply chain.

Literature related to PDS, food grain supply chain (FGSC) and MAS is reviewed and critically assessed. Based on this a framework is proposed which will help in improving functioning of PDS.

The PDS has many shortcomings arising from its complex structure and practices which are used to implement it. The authors propose an MAS to model it in which each entity will be modelled as an agent. The authors propose two stages of supply chain. First stage models the processes from procurement to storage of food grain and second stage model the distribution process.

This paper will be of interest to the policy makers and decision makers involved in the PDS by providing the shortfalls in the system and also suggesting a method to model the PDS based on practices of food supply chains.

This paper provides the decision makers in the PDS, a framework to model and assess the entire supply chain. This will help them in effective implementation of the PDS and also improve in the areas of concerns which are pointed the study.

Indian households having the below poverty line (BPL) ration card receive rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene from the Indian Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) at subsidized rates. The paper uses the National Sample Survey Organization's consumption expenditure survey for the 61st round to study the causal effect of the BPL ration card on BPL households' calorie consumption. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This causal effect is estimated by comparing per-capita-per-day calorie consumption of the BPL households having BPL card with that of a matched counterfactual BPL household from the same state not having BPL card, using stratified propensity score matching.

The BPL ration card was found to increase calorie consumption from cereals and decrease calorie consumption from non-cereal food items without affecting the overall calorie consumption of household. Thus, TPDS induces households to consume more cereals and less non-cereal without significantly changing the overall calorie consumption.

The research methodology controls for selection bias due to observable variables. Further, research needed to devise experimental set up to control for the selection bias due to unobserved variables.

The paper uses the targeting error in identifying BPL households in TPDS as a quasi-experiment set up to study the causal effect of the BPL ration card.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in the supply chain of the existing Indian public distribution system (PDS) and to analyse the same with a view to arriving at the vital recommended strategies for making the supply chain more effective and efficient.

This paper examines a new hybrid method for improving the usability of SWOT analysis. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been integrated with SWOT analysis. Use of the AHP method on the SWOT factors has yielded analytically determined priorities for the factors included in SWOT analysis and made them commensurable. The main aim in applying the hybrid method was to improve the quantitative information basis of strategy planning processes. The paper was started by listing the various factors of the four different groups of SWOT with reference to the PDS. After further shortlisting, pairwise comparisons were carried out using a software (Super Decisions) to arrive at prioritised factors for each group. The strategy options were then formulated and prioritised on the basis of the existing weightages of each factor.

The results indicated that use of available ICT solutions as part of the “Digital India” is vital in achieving the most important potential strategy alternatives in improving the supply chain for the PDS.

The analysis helps in identifying strategies to improve the existing supply chain of the Indian PDS and make it more efficient and cost effective.

This paper provides some useful insight into the SWOT analysis of the Indian PDS with specific reference to the supply chain management issues of the PDS.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to decipher the role of technology in the supply chain management (SCM); to understand the importance of supply chain integration with various stakeholders in the supply chain in increasing efficiency and effectiveness; and to comprehend the challenges in the implementation of technology in SCM.

This case study presents Haryana’s challenges in implementing the digitization of the supply of food grains to the public. Mr Srinivas, a consultant to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, is required to suggest the future roadmap while accounting for the challenges faced in the digitization of the distribution of grains to the public in the state of Haryana. The students are expected to use the information given in the case and exhibits to discuss and critically think about the various stakeholders involved when change initiatives are implemented on an organizational level and recommend solutions based on the voices of various internal stakeholders.

Postgraduate/Masters in Business Administration/Masters in Management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.

Since the last decade, debates regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the forms of transfer, i.e. in the form of in-kind or cash transfers, have been gaining momentum. This paper aims to explore the preferences revealed by the beneficiaries, the role of contextual conditions in moulding these preferences, factors associated with the transfer scheme that defines the preferences and the rationale behind such responses.

The study conducted involves primary data collected from an Indian state, Odisha. 308 beneficiaries of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) were interviewed concerning specific objectives in a rural district (Mayurbhanj) and another highly urbanised district (Khordha).

The comparative results show that the strength of the contextual conditions significantly influences the preferences of the beneficiaries in the rural district as compared to the effect on the beneficiaries of the urban district. Education seems to have an insignificant impact in rural areas. However, income and standard of living have positive significant effects on shaping the preferences for cash or in-kind transfers.

Examining the strength of the contextual conditions and emphasising beneficiaries' perspectives would stimulate a better understanding of the implementation of the proposed quasi-Universal Basic Income. The study would hence, be instrumental in dealing with the transition towards cash transfers in the Indian context where the co-responsibility of both stakeholders, the government and the beneficiaries, should be given equal weightage.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0158

The purpose of this paper is to analytically examine the viability of using blockchain technology (BT) in a public distribution system (PDS) supply chain to overcome issues of shrinkage, misplacement and ghost demand.

The authors use a standard news vendor model with two objectives, the first of which includes a reduction of the total cost of stock, while the second includes minimization of the negative impact of human suffering due to the nonavailability of subsidized food supplies to the needy people.

The authors applied the model to a real-life case to draw meaningful insights. The authors also analyzed the cost/benefit tradeoff of adopting BT in a PDS supply chain. The results show that the adoption of BT in a charitable supply chain can reduce pilferage and ghost demand significantly.

The paper is positioned for utilizing inventory visibility via consistent and tamper-resistant data stream flow capability of BT to enhance the overall efficiency of PDS. Notably, Indian PDS faces three major challenges in terms of its supply chain efficiency.

The aim of this paper is to develop a model for the prioritization of collusive behaviours within Indian food grain supply chain (FGSC) to enable government authorities, entrusted with the task of public distribution, to address those frauds based on their priority for making an existing supply chain more sustainable.

An interval 2-tuple linguistic Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (ITL-TOPSIS) method has been used to deal with the problem of prioritization of frauds under incomplete and uncertain information. Unlike traditional methods, this methodology offers an ability to make informed decisions, without loss of information, while factoring in various ambiguities.

The outcome indicates that the most severe fraud is adulteration, which adversely impacts the health of a person. Bogus Ration Card comes next, as it results into the distribution of grains to non-poor, ineligible population rather than the deserving beneficiaries. Next is diversion, where diverted food grains end up being sold at much higher rates than specified subsidized rates. Theft is least severe, as this would not affect FGSC much until done on large scale.

More decision-makers can be consulted to entertain more uncertainty and ambiguity. Also, a comparative study can be performed using different methodologies.

The proposed modelling could empower various governmental and non-governmental regulatory bodies in formulation of food policies to effectively tackle the problem of inappropriate delivery of food to the unintended population and to take necessary informed decisions for ensuring food security and safety to the society at large.

There is a dearth of studies related to the prioritization of frauds within FGSC. This research bridges the gap in literature by providing a decision-making framework for prioritizing collusive behaviour under ambiguous and uncertain information.