Direct Benefit Transfer

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
CountryIndia
Prime Minister(s)Launched under PM Manmohan Singh and expanded under PM Narendra Modi
MinistryDBT Mission, Cabinet Secretariat
Launched1 January 2013; 11 years ago (2013-01-01)
StatusActive
Websitedbtbharat.gov.in

Direct Benefit Transfer[a] or DBT is an attempt to change the mechanism of transferring subsidies launched by Government of India on 1 January 2013. This scheme or program aims to establish a Giro system to transfer subsidies directly to the people through their linked bank accounts. It is hoped that crediting subsidies into bank accounts will reduce leakages, duplicity and delay and the new processes will increase transparency and accountability.[6]

While initial DBT implementation has solved certain delivery issues and met some of its objectives, it has created a new set of concerns to be dealt with.[7][8][9] For the successful implementation of DBT, beneficiaries were made aware of the importance of creating and keeping a bank account.[10] Nationwide financial literacy and financial inclusion schemes such as PM's Jan Dhan Yojana (PM's People's Wealth Scheme) launched in August 2014 and the JAM Yojana, that is the bank-mobile-identification trinity, were started to this effect.[11][10] Literacy and social issues also impact the beneficiary. Tracking deposits, reading SMS notifications, knowing the correct amount of money that is owed, ensuring that the correct amount has been deposited, and mobility are some barriers faced by female beneficiaries in rural areas.[12]

In the 1980s, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had stated that only 15 paise out of every rupee spent reaches the poor. In this context the Modi government has stated that now every paisa, aided by direct transfer, reaches the intended beneficiary.[13][14]

  1. ^ Planning Commission, Handbook on DBT (2013), p. 8.
  2. ^ a b "What is direct cash transfer?". India Today. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. ^ Kaushiki (20 December 2012). "Can Aadhaar-enabled cash transfer schemes deliver?". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Committee on Direct Cash Transfers". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Finance, Government of India. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ "Report of the Committee on Suggesting a Framework for Electronic Benefit Transfer". Reserve Bank of India - Database. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. ^ "DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), MIS-DBT, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure". Planning Commission. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  7. ^ Sen, Jahnavi (21 June 2018). "If Jharkhand's Direct Benefit Transfer Experiment Isn't Working, Why Is It Still On?". The Wire. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  8. ^ Lahoti, Rahul (5 June 2015). "Questioning the "Phenomenal Success" of Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfers for LPG". Economic and Political Weekly. 51 (52): 7–8.
  9. ^ "CAG blasts govt claim on savings from direct benefit transfer". Deccan Herald. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  10. ^ a b Status and Performance of DBT Scheme in Karnataka (2020), p. 132.
  11. ^ Sharma 2021, p. 42.
  12. ^ Sabherwal, Rashi; Sharma, Devesh; Trivedi, Neeraj (17 November 2019). "Using direct benefit transfers to transfer benefits to women: a perspective from India". Development in Practice. 29 (8): 1001–1013. doi:10.1080/09614524.2019.1653264. ISSN 0961-4524. S2CID 211461063.
  13. ^ "Narendra Modi uses Rajiv Gandhi's remark to hit out at Congress". The Economic Times. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Every Paisa Is Reaching Poor People: PM Modi". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2022.


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