Indians prefer sugar from open mkt
Maximum people buy sugar from open markets rather than public distribution system in rural and urban India.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Poor availability of sugar in the public distribution system (PDS) is forcing people with marginal income, especially in the northern states, to buy the sweetener from the open market at high prices, says an NSSO survey.
"In both rural and urban areas, fewer than one per cent households consumed PDS sugar in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand, and fewer than two per cent in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh," the survey on household consumption during 2004-05 observed.
At an all-India level, the number of households buying sugar from PDS was 16 per cent in rural areas and 12 per cent in cities, it said.
The consumption of PDS sugar, however, was high in Tamil Nadu, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.
The survey further revealed that PDS consumption of wheat was common in Karnataka followed by rural areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
On the other hand, ration card holders in Tamil Nadu followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were major consumers of PDS rice.
The survey said over 55 per cent of the rural households used PDS kerosene in most of the states except Punjab and Haryana. Use of PDS kerosene was most common in West Bengal for both rural areas (91 per cent households) and cities (60 per cent).
Referring to the mid-day meal scheme, the survey said it had benefitted children from an estimated 22.8 per cent of households while the ICDS scheme proved to be helpful to 5.7 per cent people, the food-for-work scheme for 2.7 per cent and Annapurna scheme for 0.9 per cent.
"In both rural and urban areas, fewer than one per cent households consumed PDS sugar in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand, and fewer than two per cent in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh," the survey on household consumption during 2004-05 observed.
At an all-India level, the number of households buying sugar from PDS was 16 per cent in rural areas and 12 per cent in cities, it said.
The consumption of PDS sugar, however, was high in Tamil Nadu, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.
The survey further revealed that PDS consumption of wheat was common in Karnataka followed by rural areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
On the other hand, ration card holders in Tamil Nadu followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were major consumers of PDS rice.
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The survey said over 55 per cent of the rural households used PDS kerosene in most of the states except Punjab and Haryana. Use of PDS kerosene was most common in West Bengal for both rural areas (91 per cent households) and cities (60 per cent).
Referring to the mid-day meal scheme, the survey said it had benefitted children from an estimated 22.8 per cent of households while the ICDS scheme proved to be helpful to 5.7 per cent people, the food-for-work scheme for 2.7 per cent and Annapurna scheme for 0.9 per cent.
The NSSO survey also revealed that the coverage of PDS system was lowest in Orissa, where 33 per cent of rural households did not have ration cards. The percentage of households in urban cities of the coastal state without ration cards was as high as 58 per cent.
At an all-India level, the households without BPL cards was 18.7 per cent in rural areas and 33.1 per cent in cities, it said.
The survey said that 26.5 per cent households had ration cards in rural areas and 10.5 per cent in cities. The households with Antyodaya cards were 2.9 per cent in villages and 0.8 per cent in urban regions.
Among the bottom of the rural households, ranked by monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), an estimated 41 per cent held BPL cards while among top five per cent of the rural population an estimated 11 per cent households held such cards.
In rural areas, of the total ration card holders, about 10 per cent belonged to Scheduled Tribes, 22 per cent Schedule Castes while 42 per cent were from OBCs, it said.
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In urban areas, two per cent ration card holders were SC, 16 per cent were ST and 35 per cent were OBCs.About 43 per cent of agriculture labour households and 32 per cent of other labour households possessed BPL cards, the survey said.
As many as 51 per cent of the rural households, possessing 0.01 hectares of land, had no ration cards while in all land-holding classes, 77 to 86 per cent households held some type of ration cards.
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