Food and nutrition security under the public distribution system in Odisha

摘要

Odisha has been a frontrunner in overhauling its public distribution system (PDS), but its PDS has not contributed much to nutritional security. Over 60% of the state’s population is undernourished and malnourished, and the poor are more calorie-deficient despite having greater access to subsidized grain, although there has been an upturn in both the coverage and the outreach of PDS, devoid of rural-urban bias. It is recommended that the Government of Odisha improves coverage by instituting a statewide, universal system and widening the food basket to include high-protein pulses, coarse cereals, and biofortified food.