Synopsis Ensuring food security to all people is the primary responsibility of the state. The share of India in the food insecure and malnourished population in the world is much higher than its share in world population. The central and state governments have started various programmes to alleviate poverty. In India, the public distribution system is a large-scale food rationing programme meant to reduce food insecurity. This system has been concerned mainly with foodgrains distribution. AT present the PDS is an essential component of government food management policy. This book examines the performance of public distribution system in India. Further, it evaluates the gains accrued to beneficiaries of the PDS and also examines the viability of fair price shops by using survey data.