The direct cash transfer scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for six districts in Maharashtra was inaugurated on Tuesday by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
In the first phase, Mumbai, suburban Mumbai, Pune, Nandurbar, Wardha and Amravati are to be covered. The six districts of the State are part of the 51 districts selected across 11 States for the first phase of implementation. In the second phase, which would be launched in February, more districts are to be covered.
The UIDAI has identified 34 Central and State Government subsidies, including food grain under the public distribution system and fertiliser, for cash transfer. However, the food and fertiliser subsidy will not be initiated due to operational reasons. The pension schemes, scholarships, special schemes for ST and SC students and similar schemes rolled out by the Government have been inducted in the direct cash transfer scheme.
‘Historic’
Terming the launch a historic and an unprecedented one, Chief Minister Chavan said that using the Aadhaar number, the right beneficiaries would get the money in their bank account directly. Such mass scale deployment of a personal identity project has never been done in any country. The fruits of the IT revolution were finally reaching the common man in the true sense of the term, he said.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India to serve as proofs of identity and address.
In villages where ATM machines are not available, business correspondents will carry micro-ATM machines and disburse cash to beneficiaries, Chavan added.