-The Financial Express In a bid to curb pilferage of foodgrains in the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Centre on Saturday asked the states to opt for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under which the subsidy component is credited to bank accounts and allows the beneficiaries to buy foodgrains from the market. However, for implementing DBT, the states must complete digitisation of beneficiary list and seed bank account details for fund transfer....
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Aadhaar helped plug Rs 27,000 crore leakage in FY16
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Usage of Aadhaar for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has led to savings across several government welfare schemes, including Rs 27,000 crore in PDS, LPG distribution and MNREGS. At a review meeting on the progress of DBT, PM Narednra Modi was informed that in 2015-16, Rs 61,000 crore was distributed to over 30 crore beneficiaries using DBT. The PMO said over 1.6 crore bogus ration cards have been...
More »MGNREGA will not suffer due to arrears of last fiscal, clarifies government
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has rubbished media reports that performance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme in the current fiscal year will suffer due to arrears of wages of over Rs 8000 crore in 2015-16. Stating that certain facts in the reports have been highlighted without appreciating the larger picture, the government has clarified that is committed to ensure flow of adequate resources to the programme...
More »Clearing the air on LPG -Siddharth George & Arvind Subramanian
-The Indian Express Several questions have been raised about our estimates of the savings from the DBT scheme for cooking gas. But all parties accept that the programme reduced subsidised sales by 24 per cent. Direct cash transfers have the potential to improve the economic lives of the poor by transferring benefits to households quickly and directly. Achieving these benefits requires thoughtful design of schemes, and careful, rigorous analysis of ongoing...
More »Freedom in peril -R Ramakumar
-Frontline The government’s passage of the Aadhaar Bill in complete disregard of even basic parliamentary procedures and in subversion of an ongoing judicial process puts at risk a number of constitutional rights and liberties of citizens. The benefits cited are just ploys to realise a neoliberal dream. “Congressmen are dancing as if [Aadhaar] was a herb for all cures. With the Supreme Court pulling up the Centre, people are now seeking...
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