In the first 50 days, over Rs 5 crore was distributed under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme among 10 lakh beneficiaries in 16 States and Union territories. The scheme came into operation from January 1.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented the performance of the scheme in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

According to him, Andhra Pradesh topped in terms of the number of beneficiaries covered. At the same time, among the various schemes, the post-matric scholarship for Scheduled Castes topped in terms of benefit transferred.

Under DBT, another name for direct cash transfer, the amount under various schemes is transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries. The scheme was rolled out on January 1 in 20 districts with seven schemes. It intends to cover 43 districts by March 1 in three stages. These districts are in 16 States and Union Territories.

Chidambaram also said that DBT roll-out was based on the twin pillars of Aadhaar generation and financial inclusion. In the first phase, DBT is being used mainly for scholarships and other welfare schemes. It is believed that DBT for LPG and the rural job guarantee programmes will be included in these 43 districts during the second phase.

DBT has seen a number of changes. First, new scheme was to have rolled out in 50 districts, but Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh brought down the number to 43. Then the name was changed from Direct Cash Transfer to Direct Benefit Transfer.

Finally, the rechristened scheme was initially restricted to a few scholarships and social welfare schemes. Now, the Finance Ministry has announced that the decision on whether Aadhaar should be linked for getting benefits through direct cash transfer would be taken by the individual ministry/departments with respect to their own schemes.

> shishir.sinha@thehindu.co.in

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