Quota in Public Distribution System at Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government announced quota in the public distribution system (PDS) for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). "The quota would be 16 per cent for SC, 12 per cent for ST and 21 per cent for OBC," Rajasthan Food and Civil Supply Minister, Babulal Nagar, told reporters here. However, in the tribal areas of Shahabad and Kishangang, the ration would be allocated to SC and ST at 50 per cent quota, he said. Of the total 23,800 ration shops in the state, 1140 are vacant and 2700 new will be opened soon, Nagar said, adding 3840 of them would be allocated on the basis of reservation. "A new roaster system would be adopted for PDS shops allocation," the minister said. One PDS shop would now be made available for every 500 ration card holders, replacing the previous one for every 700-800 card holders in the area, he added.