Again, the food isn't free. It's drastically subsidized. The PDS system creates a floor price for agricultural produce, ensuring against the vagaries of the ma

Again, the food isn't free. It's drastically subsidized. The PDS system creates a floor price for agricultural produce, ensuring against the vagaries of the market. At th same time it distorts market prices. Given the inefficiency in the system, and it's lack of gearage which can transmit efficiency benefits to the bottom of the pyramid, the PDS system is an interim measure to help pull the bottom out of poverty.