BackDirect benefit transfer weeds out duplicate beneficiaries
DBT use helps in weeding out duplicate beneficiaries across govt's social security schemes like PAHAL and MGNREGS resulting in significant savings
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New Delhi: The use of direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for flagship government programmes to transfer funds directly to bank accounts of beneficiaries has helped the government in weeding out duplicate beneficiaries across its social security schemes like PAHAL and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
In 2015-16, the government distributed around ₹ 61,000 crore to more than 30 crore beneficiaries using the DBT scheme.
The usage of the scheme resulted in significant savings by helping weed out duplicate beneficiaries, said a government statement on Tuesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the DBT scheme on Monday night.
Over 1.6 crore bogus ration cards have been deleted, resulting in savings of about ₹ 10,000 crore. Similarly, 3.5 crore duplicate beneficiaries were weeded out in the PAHAL scheme dealing with cooking gas subsidy that saved around ₹ 14,000 crore. In the MGNREGS, a saving of ₹ 3,000 crore or roughly 10% of the total allocation is estimated to be saved in 2015-16.
With the coverage of Aadhaar crossing the one billion mark and the government’s drive to ensure that every household has a bank account, the coverage will only widen in the coming days as the process of seeding of Aadhaar with the database picks up.
In addition, armed with the legislative backing to Aadhaar, the government is planning to approach the Supreme Court to permit the usage of the number for use in other social security programmes as well, besides the few permitted by the court in its interim order.
At present, the court allows the government to use Aadhaar in MGNREGS, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, pension by central and state governments and the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, in addition to its use in the public distribution system and the distribution of cooking gas and kerosene. This is till a constitution bench decides a clutch of cases around Aadhaar and violation of privacy.
In the review meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to keep exclusions at a minimum to ensure that no intended beneficiary is left out.
Recommending caution, he also asked all concerned departments to ensure that as the new mechanisms are put in place, they do not result in causing inconvenience to any beneficiary. He advised the departments to test their systems carefully before implementing them on a large scale, the statement said.
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