The Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley said that Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme is a very important scheme as it transfers the benefit to the intended targeted beneficiaries. He said that Direct Benefit Transfer ensures that benefits reach the targeted population and helps in reducing leakages. The Union Finance Minister was addressing the members of Consultative Committee attached to Finance Ministry discussing the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) at New Delhi today. The Finance Minister also took the opportunity to introduce the new Ministers of State for Finance Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar to the Consultative Committee.

DBT is a major reform initiative, involving process re-engineering in various Government welfare schemes/programs for better delivery systems.DBT attempts to use technology in Government processes so that citizens are engaged in meaningful manner.DBT aspires to achieve accurate targeting of beneficiaries, de-duplication, efficiency in delivery process, ensuring greater inclusion, elimination of waste, curbing leakage thereby controlling expenditure and greater accountability and transparency. As on 31.5.2016, 74 schemes of 17 Ministries/Departments are being reported on DBT.

The Consultative Committee meeting started with a presentation on Direct Benefit Transfer by Ministry of Finance officials. The presentation outlined the evolution of Direct Benefit Transfer, various features of the scheme, DBT Mission, key components of DBT, progress of Aadhar card, the challenges ahead and the way forward.

Members of the Committee also gave various suggestions with regard to Direct Benefit Transfer. Most of the members congratulated the Government and the Finance Ministry on the work done on Direct Benefit Transfer and said that it will help in reducing leakages. Members gave their valuable suggestions to further improve the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme. One member suggested that regular discussions be held with State governments to improve the implementation of the DBT scheme. Some members suggested that Banking Correspondents scheme should be further strengthened to ensure that there is last mile coverage of beneficiaries. Suggestions were also given to ensure that the genuine beneficiaries are not left out of the DBT scheme.

Responding to the suggestions and queries raised by the Consultative Committee members, Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Parliament has passed the Aadhar Act and there are provisions in the legislation to take care of the issues raised. Chief Economic Adviser Shri Arvind Subramanian talked about the steps taken to increase the banking coverage so that DBT can work seamlessly.

Along with the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley and Ministers of State for Finance Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, the Members of the Parliament and the Consultative Committee who attended the aforesaid Meeting today included Shri Anirudhan Sampath, Shri Baijayanta Jai Panda, Shri Dilip Kumar Mansukhal Gandhi, Smt Poonam Mahajan, Shri Ram Charitra Nishad and Shri Subhash Chandra Baheria ( all Members of Lok Sabha); Shri Anil Desai, Kumari Selja and Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, (all Members of Rajya Sabha).

Among the officers present during the aforesaid Consultative Committee Meeting included Shri Ashok Lavasa, Finance Secretary, Ms Anjuli Chib Duggal, Secretary (DFS), Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance among others.

Direct Benefit Transfer strengthens targeted welfare delivery and transparency, with Aadhaar backed identification and banking coverage measures. Direct Benefit Transfer is a major reform to improve welfare delivery by using technology and process re engineering for accurate beneficiary targeting, de duplication, reduced leakages, and greater transparency. Operative elements include Aadhaar linked identification, expansion of banking coverage to enable electronic transfers, strengthening the Banking Correspondent network for last mile access, and institutional monitoring across multiple schemes; the Aadhaar legislative framework is cited as addressing implementation issues.