The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Public Distribution System (PDS) in the country.
The study was conducted in nine states and the figures are not as high as Bihar.
While 36 per cent of people in Rajasthan are poor, it is 26 per cent in Jharkhand. Chhattisgarh has 17 per cent poor people, Andhra Pradesh 16, Orissa 9 and Uttar Pradesh 7 per cent.
In Bihar, out of 1,200 poor families were interviewed, many said they had not eaten pulses, fruits, eggs or meat for several weeks.
The study also found that the PDS system which aims at providing foodgrains to the needy at cheaper rates has many flaws as 45 per cent of grains are not reaching the poor.
Under the PDS, federal authorities buy food grains directly from farmers and then allocate it to state governments, which are responsible for selling it to poor families through a network of shops throughout the country.
The main reasons are widespread corruption and black marketing of the grains.
