The Mission Director for the Government’s ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer scheme will now work out of the Finance Ministry.
This move is seen as a result of the rising dissatisfaction in Government circles over the tardy progress in rolling out direct benefits transfer.
“In order to improve inter-ministerial coordination and hasten the rollout of the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme, the Prime Minister has approved the shifting of the Mission Director and his officers from Planning Commission to the Ministry of Finance,” a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said. This shift will enable direct supervision of the rollout of DBT across the country and resolution of inter-ministerial issues, it added.
The post of mission Director was created in March. The Member Secretary of the Planning Commission Sindhushree Khullar was given charge. However, on June 10, the Government said that former Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan will be the new Mission Director for a period of two years.
The Mission Director is supported by a Joint Secretary and additional officers.
The two Government departments which interface closely with DBT are the Department of Expenditure, which is in-charge of all Government funds being transacted through DBT, and the Department of Financial Services, which is responsible for financial inclusion and managing the cash transfer process through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge. The other two departments which have a common role are the Unique Identity Authority of India, which does Aadhaar enrolment, and the Department of Information Technology, which provides technical support.