n SOCIAL SCIENTIST indicatiol of how dominant and powerfull are the interersts who control the marketed surplus. The increase in the staying power could only be explained in terms of liberal credit and vicious role played by black money facilitating large-scale hoarding leading to the artificial scarcities. The whole tragedy in relation to sugar production and distribution is all due to anarchic planning. It is a matter of controversy 'that after three years of sugar boom the Government was unable to see what was coming. In the fat years of sugar overproduction, the Government subsidised the sugar barons to the full. In the lean years with substantial shortages, they helped the millowners to fleece the consumers through exorbitant open market prices. An outstanding example of this is the recent policy announcement of Government granting tax rebates of the order of Rs 20-40 per quintal to enable the monopolists to exploit the situation to the maximum possible extent. The Government is proposing to widen the scope of the public distribution programme with the ostensible purpose of restraining the inflationary pressure and also ensuring some measure of protection to the vulnerable sections of the population. The public distribution machinery channelised about 10.1 million tonnes foodgrains in 1965 and 14.1 million tonnes in 1969. The amount steadily declined thereafter and it was 8.9 million tonnes in 1970. The relatively easy supply position resulted in excess stocks with the FGI ; to get rid of these, the Corporation entered into open market operations. Making hay while the sun shine, the traders went into a buying spree and built up their own stocks. The open sales were a flop as far as their effect on prices was concerned, as the traders, after cornering as much as they could, held back from selling. When the availability of foodgrains was not a problem, the public distribution system failed to influence prices; in the sprialling price situation, the Government, ironically, comes out to curb it through the very same distribution strategy. Of course, the Government assures supply of foodgrains 'at reasonable prices' through the fair price shops. The abuses of the fair price shops are too well-known. In scarcity conditions the particular food-grain in demand goes under and leaks out. The rural poor^ in any case, can buy only a very limited quantity at a time and that rules out the stock position in fair price shops affording them any advantage. The supply of the very foodgrains needed by the rural poor is not being arranged by the fair price shops as the stocks are mostly of wheat. In the case of sugar, the Government proposes to use the fair price shops for 70 per cent of the sugar produced. One can imagine what is going to happen when the rest of 30 per cent is allowed to flow into the open market. The government has announced its intention to import 50,000 tonnes of pulses, which amount to about 4.5 per cent of the total production. The production of pulses does not show an increase over 1955-56 level which means that the total availability is steadily declining. The amount