Aadhaar – DBT Impact: 1.6 crore bogus ration card holders and 3.5 crore duplicate beneficiaries weeded out; Savings of Rs 27,000 crore estimated

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, reviewed the progress of Aaadhar and Direct Benefit Transfer programmes at a high level meeting on 9th May 2016.   In the course of the two hour meeting, the Prime Minister was informed about the progress made in Aaadhar number generation, and seeding of official databases with Aaadhar numbers to streamline the process of identification of beneficiaries, and to ensure proper targeting of benefits to the people. It was informed that in 2015-16, an amount of over Rs. 61,000 crore was distributed to over 30 crore beneficiaries, using Direct Benefit Transfer. 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. Similarly, 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. 3000 crore (roughly 10 per cent) has been estimated in 2015-16. Several States and Union Territories too have achieved significant savings through DBT.

The Prime Minister has emphasized 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 are put in place, they do 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.