Wary of glitches discrediting cash transfers and bolstering parties and activists opposed to the move, the government is looking at just seven schemes. “The money will be transferred through the direct benefit transfer system using the UIDAI platform,” finance minister P Chidambaram said.
Unlike the Left, the BJP is yet to take a formal position on cash transfers, but the party feels the selected schemes are already covered under DBT. However, BJP CMs like Raman Singh have strongly opposed food rations being brought under cash transfers.
Addressing the media along with I&B minister Manish Tewari, Chidambaram said that by the end of 2013 the government hoped to rollout cash transfers in all selected schemes in the remaining parts of the country. He, however, clarified there would be no cash transfers pertaining to food, fertilizer and petroleum and LPG subsidies.
After its launch in 20 districts on January 1, the DBT will be rolled out in 11 more districts from February 1, and in 12 other districts from March 1, he said. After their successful implementation it will be rolled out in remaining part of the country.
He said though DBT is Aadhar-based but lack of identification cards would not be an impediment in getting the benefit of these cash transfers. “The list of beneficiaries being digitized in the district concerned.”
Chidambaram said that at several levels there were monitoring panels which would look into implementation issues. He said the DBT was open for any scrutiny, including an audit by the CAG. “This is indeed a game changer,” he asserted and said that banks had already floated tenders for 20 lakh micro-ATMs, which, once operational, will help the government in directly transferring the cash in the beneficiaries accounts.
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