Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is a government ministry of India. The Ministry is headed by a Cabinet rank minister. The current Minister is Ram Vilas Paswan.[1]

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Emblem of India

South Block building, housing the Cabinet Secretariat
Agency overview
Formed2 September 1946
JurisdictionRepublic of India
HeadquartersSansad Bhavan, New Delhi
Ministers responsible

Departments

The ministry is divided into two departments, the Department of Food and Public Distribution and the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Department of Food and Public Distribution

The objectives of the Department are to ensure:

  • remunerative rates for the farmers.
  • supply of food grains at reasonable prices through the public distribution system.

Public Distribution System

The Indian Public Distribution System (PDS) is a national food security system that distributes subsidised food to India's poor. Major commodities include wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene. Surpluses of food from increased crop yields (as a result of the Green Revolution and good monsoon seasons) are managed by the Food Corporation of India, established by the Food Corporation Act 1964. The system implements national policy for farm price support, operations, procurement, storage, preservation, inter-state movement and distribution. PDS has a network of about 478,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS), perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world, operated by the Union Government and state governments.

Department of Consumer Affairs

The Department administers the policies for Consumer Cooperatives, price monitoring, essential commodity availability, consumer movement and control of statutory bodies such as the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) and Weights and Measures.[2]

The department is responsible for:[2]

  • National Test House
  • Standards of Weights and Measures
  • The Bureau of Indian Standards
  • Consumer Cooperatives
  • Forward Markets Commission, Mumbai
  • Monitoring of Prices and Availability of essential commodities
  • The Consumer Protection Act, 1986
  • Consumer Welfare Fund
  • Internal Trade
  • Inter-State Trade: The Spirituous Preparations (Inter-State Trade and Commerce) Control Act, 1955 (39 of 1955).
  • Control of Futures Trading: the Forward Contracts (Regulations) Act, 1952 (74 of 1952).

The department regulates the availability and prescribes measures to see that the system works towards the food security of vulnerable people. This intent is to increase dignity, accountability, visibility, positive orientation and changed mind set.

Ministers
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
1 Jawaharlal Nehru 15 August 1945 15 August 1946
2 Rajendra Prasad 15 August 1946 11 August 1947
3 Lord Wavell 11 August 1947 15 August 1947
4 Vallabhbhai Patel 15 August 1947 15 December 1947
5 Syed Ali Zaheer 15 December 1947 15 December 1948
6 Lord Mountbatten 15 December 1948 15 December 1949
7 Lord Pethick-Lawrence 15 December 1949 15 December 1950
1 Jawaharlal Nehru 15 December 1950 15 December 1961
8 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1 March 1961 21 March 1961
9 William Hare 21 March 1961 25 March

1962

10 Gulzarilal Nanda 25 March

1962

 21 March 1967
11 Morarji Desai 21 March 1967 6 December 1969
12 Indira Gandhi 6 December 1969 6 December 1969
13 Charan Singh 6 December 1969 24 March 1970
14 B. D. Jatti 24 March 1970 24 March 1971
15 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 24 March 1971 24 March 1975
16 Mohammad Hidayatullah 24 March 1975 24 March 1977
17 Jagjivan Ram 24 March 1977 28 July 1979
18 Yashwantrao Chavan 28 July 1979 1980
19 Morarji Desai 1980 1982
20 Chandra Shekhar 2 December 1989 21 June 1991
21 Vishwanath Pratap Singh 21 June 1991 5 February 1999
22 Lal Krishna Advani 5 February 1999 2001
23 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 2001 2002
24 Sharad Yadav 2002 15 May 2004
25 Sharad Pawar 15 May 2004 2014
26 Ram Vilas Paswan 2014

Ministers of State
S. No. Name From To
1 Jawaharlal Nehru 1947 1948
2 Edwina Mountbatten 1948 1952
3 Patricia Knatchbull, 1955 1957
4 Lady Pamela Hicks 1957 1962
5 Indira Gandhi 1962 1966
6 Mohammad Hidayatullah 1970 1974
7 Indira Gandhi December 21, 1974 March 24, 1977
8 Morarji Desai 1977 1982
9 Janaki Venkataraman 1982 1984
10 Sonia Gandhi 1985 1987
11 Sita Kumari 1987 1990
12 Ila Pant 1987 1989
13 Chandra Shekha Singh 21 November 1990 26 June 1991
14 Pushpa Shah 26 June 1991 6 March 1993
15 Vimala Sharma 6 March 1993 16 May 1996
16 Lal Krishna Advani 16 May 1996 1 June 1996
17 Mayawati 1 June 1996 19 March 1998
18 Lal Krishna Advani 1998 2001
19 Kantilal Bhuria 2001 2004
20 Suvra Mukherjee 22 May 2004 29 January 2006
21 Lal Krishna Advani 1

January 2006

 1 January 2006
22 Renuka Chowdhury 1 January 2006 22 May 2009
23 K. V. Thomas 22 May 2009 22 May 2014
24 Raosaheb Danve 22 May 2014 31 May 2019
25 Raosaheb Danve 31 May 2019 Incumbent

See also

References

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Dept of Consumer Affairs - Overview". Dept of Consumer Affairs. Archived from the original on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
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