The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is a government ministry of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The ministry is headed by a Cabinet rank minister.

Departments

The ministry is divided into two departments, the Department of Food and Public Distribution and the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Department of Food and Public Distribution

The objectives of the department are to ensure: *remunerative rates for the farmers. *supply of food grains at reasonable prices through the public distribution system.

Public Distribution System

The Indian

Public Distribution System The Public Distribution System (PDS) is an Indian food security system that was established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to distribute food and non-food items to India's poor a ...

(PDS) is a national

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

system that distributes subsidised food to India's poor. Major commodities include

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, sugar and

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

. Surpluses of food from increased crop yields (as a result of the

Green Revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...

and good

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

seasons) are managed by the

Food Corporation of India Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

, established by the Food Corporation Act 1964. The system implements national policy for farm

price support In economics, a price support may be either a subsidy, a production quota, or a price control, each with the intended effect of keeping the market price of a good higher than the competitive equilibrium level. In the case of a price control, a p ...

, operations, procurement, storage, preservation, inter-state movement and distribution. PDS has a network of about 478,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS), perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world, operated by the

Union Government The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and state governments.

Department of Consumer Affairs

The department administers the policies for Consumer Cooperatives, price monitoring, essential commodity availability, consumer movement and control of statutory bodies such as the

Bureau of Indian Standards The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standar ...

(BIS) and Weights and Measures. The department is responsible for: *National Test House *Standards of Weights and Measures *The

*Consumer Cooperatives *Forward Markets Commission, Mumbai *Monitoring of Prices and Availability of essential commodities *The

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It repeals and replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. About The Consumer Protection Act , 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha as a replacement of Copra 1986 on 8 July 2 ...

*Consumer Welfare Fund * Internal Trade * Inter-State Trade: The Spirituous Preparations (Inter-State Trade and Commerce) Control Act, 1955 (39 of 1955). * Control of Futures Trading: the Forward Contracts (Regulations) Act, 1952 (74 of 1952). The department regulates the availability and prescribes measures to see that the system works towards the food security of vulnerable people. This intent is to increase dignity, accountability, visibility, positive orientation and changed mind set.

Ministers

Food & Agriculture (1947-71)

Food & Civil Supplies (1983-91)

Food (1991-96)

Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution (1991-96)

Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution (1996-present)

References

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
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Consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

Welfare in India Consumer protection in India Consumer ministries