The amazing features of fair price shops
It is a fact that the prices of all daily commodities are soaring with high prices and it is becoming more and more troublesome for the common people to get their hands on daily life commodities. In such a scenario, fair price shops, introduced by the government was an indispensable necessity.
A lot of unsocial elements are withholding stocks and black marketing for their profits, and the fines or imprisonments did not bring any fear in them. The fair price shops have been made available for the common people where the daily household necessities like rice, sugar, oil, soap, pulse, ghee, clothes, matches, and a lot of other items shall be available.
The best feature of these shops is there shall be no price hike in the articles available from those fair price shops. The fair price shops are definitely starting to become a permanent aspect of our social life.
The introduction of biometric system
This is one of the greatest attempts made by the government to stabilize the economy of the current situation. The agitation over price hikes has started subsidizing, especially for the people who are financially unstable.
Features of biometric system
A major advancement within fair price shops is a biometric system shall be introduced for these shops by this year. This has been done for reducing irregularities and corruption within the Public Distribution System. The process of the biometric system has already started and the e-tender is under process. The project has been expected to be completed within May 2016.
Another important aspect of the introduction of the biometric system within fair price shops is, apart from the irregularities and a check on the black marketing, this system ensures the record of transactions so that no party is missed from attaining the rations.
And the biometric system also makes sure that the transactions are readily available for monitoring.
Issues faced while introducing biometric system
One of the major issues that the fair price shops faced while formatting the biometric system is there was a freeze in the BPL registrations and issuing of Ration Cards within the city, because, with the provisions of the new FSA, the old BPL card holders were brought within selected priority household families.
Within Delhi, PDS has promised to form a network of 2300 fair-priced shops that shall cater to 19.7 Lakh ration cardholders through the strata of the population and more than 73 Lakh people, which are almost 44% of the population, shall be covered in the new Food Security Act.
It has been proposed for the maintenance of a completely new list for verifying the applications to prefer the most financially unstable families and then go along the stable families in an orderly way. With the availability of prescribed numbers, the new ration cards for attaining daily commodities from fair price shops shall be issued.
The features of fair price shops
- With the introduction of fair price shops, there has been a change among small scale marketers. They are no longer holding back the products and commodities that are required by people. The big farmers are bringing excess products within markets and also the appeal cutting down waste food grains have been made.
- The fair price shops are engaged in restrictive trade. These shops can only sell those commodities that are allowed for them and the income of these shops is restricted to the commissions fixed by the government. The fair price shop is a one generation business and there are no such possibilities that the dealer can nominate his/her successor for this business.
- Another important feature of the fair price shops is all the fair price shop holders are both owners and employees at the same time. But they do not have the prerogative right of an owner, nor do they have the trade union right of an employee.
A tabular overview of the different factors of Fair price shops
| SL NO | Features of fair price shops | Brief details |
| 1. | Introduction of biometric system | An important feature for monitoring all the transactions. It keeps a record so that any of the families registered for attaining the rations is not missed and at the same time, no family is provided with rations twice. It keeps a record and makes it readily available for the fair price shop holders. |
| 2. | A means to prevent black marketing and corruption | The fair price shops make it easier for people to attain daily commodities at lower price than the market and thus, the marketers are not able to store commodities to sell in black, and also the big farmers are bringing the excess productions to the market for sale. |
| 3. | A restrictive mode | The fair price shops do not work in the form of simple businesses. The shops are allowed to sell only those products that are allocated for them. No other commodities can be sold. |
| 4. | One generation business | The business of fair price shops cannot be passed or nominated to the following generation. This is a one generation business and only the registered person can continue it. |
| 5. | Both employee and employer at the same time | For the fair price shops, the owner is also an employee, but the individual does not have prerogative right of an owner and also the person cannot be a member of any employee trade unions. |