Funds transferred to people in cash and kind under various subsidies and benefits rose to a record level of Rs 6.18 lakh crore in the last financial year, more than 63% increase from the last two years, government figures show.
The latest data, after collation from various central ministers and departments, show that nearly Rs 6.18 lakh crore was transferred directly to the bank accounts or given in kind to people across the country in 2021-22. This was a significant jump from Rs 5.52 lakh crore doled out to people in 2020-21, the previous financial year, and from Rs 3.8 lakh crore in 2019-20, according to the government figures.
A record number of 783 crore transactions took place in 2021-22 under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which is also a big jump from 603 crore transactions in 2020-21 and 438 crore transactions in the 2019-20 financial year. This amounted to a near 79% jump in the number of transactions over the last two years.
The Narendra Modi government embarked on the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana in 2020 to provide free rations to nearly 80 crore people in the country during the Covid pandemic — this seems to have played a big role in the increase in DBT. The maximum 342 crore transactions in 2021-22 was under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) with benefits worth Rs 2.17 lakh crore being transferred to people.
News18 had earlier reported last November that the government had said the Aadhaar-enabled DBT payments during 2020-21 helped save nearly Rs 45,000 crore, taking total savings since 2014, when the scheme was expanded to Rs 2.2 lakh crore. The government showcases the DBT scheme as one which cuts out middle-men and corruption, sending money directly in the bank accounts or in kind to millions of people.
Aadhaar-enabled DBT payments increased by up to 140% in April 2021 from March 2020. They again shot up by more than 200% in May 2021 from the April 2020 levels, signifying DBT payments by government in Covid times.
It was the UPA government, which had started the DBT on a pilot basis in 2013-14 before the Modi government adopted the same and expanded it to cover all government schemes in which cash or in kind benefits are given to the people.
PM Modi in the past had extolled the virtues of DBT while citing the statement of former PM Rajiv Gandhi that out of 100 paise released by the government towards the welfare of poor and needy, only 15 paise reached to the beneficiaries due to leakages and corruption. Modi propagated the ‘JAM’ (Jan Dhan Bank Account, Aadhaar and Mobile) for DBT.
At present, 313 central government schemes are on the DBT-Aadhaar platform including PM-KISAN, PM Aawas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, LPG-PAHAL and MGNREGA among others.
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