The PDS has been an integral part of India’s food policy since the World War ll period, when statutory rationing was introduced in big cities, such as Mumbai and Kolkata. After independence also, the GoI has continued to follow the system, although the nature and the entent of government intervention has varied over time, depending on fluctuations in food grains production and price rise. The First Five Year Plan emphasized the distribution of food grain through the statutory rationing system in cities and towns having population of more than 5,000 persons and in chronically food-deficit areas of the country. In the Second Five Year Plan, the PDS was extended to cover, besides food grains, other essential commodities also. In the Third Five Year Plan, a procurement and distribution system was created for ensuring price stabilization. In the Fourth Five Year Plan, the scope of the PDS was further widened by covering all rural areas in the country and distribution of other goods of mass focused on the poor. The Sixth Five Year Plan emphasised the distribution of food grains to the disadvantaged groups. In the Seven Five Year Plan, the PDS was included in the Minimum Needs Programme (MNP). The Eight Five Year Plan laid emphasis of the intensification of the PDS in the rural and disadvantaged areas, and strengthened the infrastructure by establishing new fair price shops. The Ninth Five Year Plan took an broader view of the food security system and included nutritional security in it. The system was continued in the Tenth Five Year Plan and will continue in the Eleventh Five Year Plan also. A provision of Rs 32,667 crore was made for ensuring food security under the PDS.