JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the progress of Aadhaar and Direct Benefit Transfer schemes at a high-level meeting.
The PM asked the officials to test the schemes carefully before implementing them on a large scale.
In the course of the 2-hour meeting, the prime minister was informed about the progress made in Aadhaar number generation, and seeding of official databases with Aadhaar numbers to streamline the process of identification of beneficiaries.
The prime minister was also informed that in 2015-16, over Rs 61,000 crore was distributed to over 30 crore beneficiaries, using DBT platform. This includes over Rs 25,000 crore in MGNREGS, and over Rs 21,000 crore in PAHAL for LPG.
“DBT has resulted in significant savings across welfare schemes. It has also resulted in weeding out of duplicate beneficiaries. For instance, over 1.6 crore bogus ration cards have been deleted, resulting in savings of about Rs 10,000 crore,” the excerpts of the meeting said.
It said, nearly 3.5 crore duplicate beneficiaries were weeded out in the PAHAL scheme, resulting in savings of over Rs 14,000 crore in 2014-15 alone.
In MGNREGS too, a saving of Rs 3,000 crore (roughly 10%) has been estimated in 2015-16. Several states and union territories too have achieved significant savings through DBT.
The prime minister emphasised the importance of creating a platform that is error-free, and would ensure that the targeted beneficiaries receive their benefits in time.
He also asked all concerned departments to ensure that as the new mechanisms were put in place, they did not result in causing inconvenience to any beneficiary. The prime minister asked the officials to test their systems carefully before implementing them on a large scale.
The prime minister was also informed of steps taken towards a unique identifier for NGOs. Over 71,000 NGOs are now registered with the NGO Darpan portal, maintained by NITI Aayog.