Robbing India's poorest -Study Report

The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) launched in 1997 on the back of 72 lakh tonnes of foodgrain annually, with its focus on six crore of the nation's poorest. 

Targeted Public Distribution System(TPDS)
TPDS involve issue of 10 kg of foodgrains per family per month for the population ''Below Poverty Line(BPL)''at specially subsidized rates
The identification of poor under TPDS is the responsibility of the State Govts.
Poverty estimates of States in India by Planning Commission are estimated by the formulae developed by (late)Prof Lakdawala Committee
In Lakdawala formula,the following indices have been followed -
Urban Poverty:CPI-IL(Consumer Price Index for Industrial Labourers)
Rural Poverty:CPI-AL(Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers)

Current Allocation to TPDS
The earlier allocation was 10 kg per month per family which was increase to 20 kg at 50% of the economic cost in April 2000 and  it was further increased to 25% in 2001 and 35% in  April 2002
 

It was touted as the dawn of a new era for India's food security, but remains riddled with leaks that gobble up to half the foodgrain routed through it.

Research conducted by Raghul Madhaiyan of the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden, and published in January 2014, has criticised India's performance on food security, saying it has been "mediocre" and that it clearly reflects on the status of poor people in the country. 

The Central government has already admitted that Tamil Nadu has a better implementation of PDS than other states because of the absence of TPDS. 

The Uppsala University project has similarly compared the PDS in Tamil Nadu with the rest of the country and found the TPDS to be as sick as PDS

"Pilferage and leakages at both Central and local levels have been huge concerns in proper delivering of foodgrain. In 1999-2000, around 10 % of rice and almost 49 % of wheat allotted for the PDS have been diverted. Between 1999 and 2005, the leakages from the PDS at the all India level increased from 24% to 54 %. In 2007-08, the overall diversion of the PDS grains was 44 %," the report said.

The study has shown that states like Bihar and Punjab have witnessed abnormal leakage, i.e. more than 75 %, while states like Haryana, Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have high leakage, i.e. between 50 to 75 %.

Tamil Nadu, along with other states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal, has less than 25% leakage