Direct benefit transfer facility to cover 125 social schemes - Hindustan Times
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Direct benefit transfer facility to cover 125 social schemes

Hindustan Times | By
Jul 28, 2017 08:48 PM IST

All points of sale machines at cooperatives and ration shops will also be linked to Aadhaar. A state portal (dbt.uk.gov.in) comprising details relating to all 125 social security schemes is likely to be launched next week.

DEHRADUN: To ensure that genuine recipients are benefited and leakages in distribution of subsidies are plugged, the Uttarakhand government will soon extend the countrywide Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) facility to all the 125 social security schemes being run in the state.

Under the scheme, subsidy amount will be distributed online through the DBT facility for both cash and non cash based schemes meant for the poor.(HT Photo)
Under the scheme, subsidy amount will be distributed online through the DBT facility for both cash and non cash based schemes meant for the poor.(HT Photo)

“Under the move, the subsidy amount will be transferred to the Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts of all agencies or individual beneficiaries availing benefits under the various social security schemes,” said Arunendra Chauhan, additional secretary, finance and coordinator for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Sale.

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He told Hindustan Times that as part of the initiative, all 125 social security schemes are being integrated under the Aadhaar-enabled DBT facility to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries availing those schemes draw benefits

“Besides, the online facility will also help plug leakages in distribution of subsidy amounts. It will help track the movements of all subsidised goods meant for the poor through a state-of-the-art global positioning system device,” Chauhan said.

Under the scheme, subsidy amount will be distributed online through the DBT facility for both cash and non cash based schemes meant for the poor. “In the case of purely cash-based schemes, for instance, pension amounts will be transferred directly to the Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts of beneficiaries like widows, aged people, physically challenged.”

The same procedure would be followed while distributing scholarships among the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe students and those from the minority communities. As for the non cash-benefit schemes, funds would be disbursed to the Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts of agencies like ration shops and cooperatives, which distribute subsidised food ration or fertilisers, insecticides to farmers.

“In the case of the midday meal scheme, subsidised funds will be transferred to school committees responsible for providing midday meal to students belonging to the poor families,” Chauhan said.

He added that all points of sale machines at cooperatives and ration shops would also be linked to Aadhaar. A state portal (dbt.uk.gov.in) comprising details relating to all 125 social security schemes is likely to be launched next week. “This portal will act as a bridge between various departments of the state government and those of the Centre. Such a system will ensure that benefits meant for genuine beneficiaries under the social welfare schemes the Centre and the state government have introduced, reach them properly and without delay.”

The portal would be linked to the digitized database of beneficiaries, the agencies responsible for distributing cash and non-cash benefits among beneficiaries. “This record will be linked to the digitized database of different departments involved in implementing social welfare schemes,” Chauhan said.

According to him, a major benefit of the new system is that it will help identify all fake beneficiaries. “Ever since this system was introduced countrywide, some 30% ration cards have turned out to be fake,” Chauhan said, adding the Aadhaar-enabled online system had helped eliminate some five lakh fake ration cards in Uttarakhand.

“The biggest advantage of this system is that it will help plug leakages, and the government will be able to utilise savings to make social security schemes accessible to more beneficiaries.”

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