FinMin, Rural Ministry figures on women beneficiaries differ

How many women: 20.64 crore or 20.63 crore: were benefited by the Narendra Modi government's PM Garib Kalyan Yojana under which Rs 1,500 was transferred in three instalments during the Covid-19 pandemic?

An official statement by the Ministry of Finance and an RTI response by the Ministry of Rural Development issued within a span of three days contradict each other with the latter's figures showing a difference of 1.26 lakh. Even two statements by the Ministry of Finance in a span of one year also show substantial variations.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on 26 March, 2020 that over 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders will get Rs 500 each for April, May and June as part of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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An RTI reply from the Ministry of Rural Development received by transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak on August 31 shows that the number of beneficiaries who received Rs 500 each in three instalments ran into 20.64 crore (20,64,26,947).

However, an August 28 statement by the Ministry of Finance said it has given out Rs 30,945 crore under the scheme. Though the Ministry did not give the exact numbers in statement, Nayak said, a calculation would show that the number of 20.63 crore beneficiaries only and the difference between its figure and Ministry of Rural Development's would be 1.26 lakh beneficiaries.

Nayak also points to further discrepancies within the two statements issued by the Ministry of Finance. A statement issued on 3 June 2020 had said that 20.05 crore women (98.33% of women Jan Dhan account holders) were transferred Rs 500 each in April 2020 while the number rose to 20.62 crore, which it said was 100% coverage.

However, if one takes this August's statement, there was an increase of 2.26 lakh beneficiaries in June 2020 compared to May. If this is true, the Ministry's claim that it covered all the beneficiaries in May would be wrong. "Until the Ministry of Finance clarifies which of the above figures are accurate, the discrepancy in the data it has disclosed proactively, will remain," Nayak said.

If one goes by the RTI, calculation shows that complete payment of Rs 1,500 per beneficiary would require a total payout of Rs 30,964 crore. But the August 28 statement by the Ministry of Finance says, it is only Rs 30,945 crore. "This could mean that all the 20.64 crore women (mentioned as beneficiaries of the scheme) did not receive all three installments. Rs 30,945 crore would have fully covered only 20.63 crore beneficiaries," Nayak said.

Also, a perusal of statements by the Ministry of Finance shows that it dispersed Rs 10,029 crore in first instalment for 20.05 crore women, which was 98.33% of beneficiaries at that time. In May, it said it gave out Rs 10,315 crore for 20.62 crore beneficiaries, which it said covered all. This would mean that the third instalment payment was Rs 10,601 crore, which is Rs 286 crore more than the payment of the second instalment.

Nayak said this would mean that the claim of the Ministry in June last year that it covered all beneficiaries may not be correct.

"There is a lot that both Ministries have to account for publicly regarding the manner of spending over Rs 30,000 crores on the scheme. This is not an ordinary sum. In addition to domestic budgetary support, a significant proportion of the expenditure has been incurred by way of low interest loans secured from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. So the taxpayer is not only footing the bill during the pandemic but will continue to do so until the loans are repaid," he said.

Beneficiaries: In a nutshell

* UP tops list with more than 3.2 crore beneficiaries followed by Bihar 2.43 crore and West Bengal 1.96 crore
* Madhya Pradesh with 1.67 crore and Rajasthan with 1.48 crore occupies fourth and fifth positions
* Together, these five states account for 52.2% of total beneficiaries
* Karnataka at tenth with 80.64 lakh beneficiaries
* District-wise, West Bengal's Murshidabad has the highest number of beneficiaries at 17,10,775

Beneficiaries in Karnataka

Bagalkot: 1,87,436
Bangalore Rural: 1,80,726
Bangalore Urban: 5,65,382
Belgaum: 5,65,457
Bellarv: 3,42,060
Bidar: 3,26,434
Bijapur: 1,44,239
Chamarajanagar: 2,42,128
Chikmagalur: 1,18,329
Chitradurga: 2,31,803
Dakshin Kannad: 1,99,674
Davangere: 3,29,025
Dharwad: 1,97,467
Gadag: 69,845
Gulbarga: 3,84,186
Hassan: 2,04,399
Haveri: 1,20,433
Kodagu: 67,835
Kolar: 2,03,347
Koppal: 2,00,107
Mandya: 2,33,364
Mysuru: 5,04,365
Raichur: 2,36,119
Shimoga: 2,53,830
Tumkur: 3,43,567
Udupi: 1,06,554
Uttar Kannada: 2,53,846
Unspecified: 12,52,395
Total (Karnataka): 80,64,352

(Source: RTI response from Ministry of Rural Development to transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak)