Understanding Karnataka’s Food Coupon System

• by Vijay Ravi and Aastha Kapoor
• May 23, 2017
• 1 min
Download resource

The Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Karnataka began reforming public distribution by rolling-out Food Coupons in Bangalore. While it was a well-meaning and thought-out idea it resulted in much heartburn among beneficiaries.

The Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Karnataka began reforming public distribution by rolling-out Food Coupons in Bangalore. While it was a well-meaning and thought-out idea it resulted in much heartburn among beneficiaries. While beneficiary distress was justified, the system itself was a large improvement over the one it replaced as it increased transparency and enabled better tracking of demand. The hiccup was only caused due to hurried implementation and poor communication – a common feature among many large scale government programs.