In a far reaching impact on transfer of cash benefits to genuine beneficiaries without giving scope for any corruption and pilferage and also overcome shortage of cash at the field level, the Andhra Pradesh government is considering extending the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system to several welfare and economic assistance schemes.
RBI suggestion
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India, in a letter, suggested to the State government to implement the DBT system and transfer the amount due to the beneficiaries of welfare schemes directly to their bank account on the lines of cash transfer to the LPG consumers.
If the State government indeed implements the DBT system, about Rs.10,000 crore would go directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries without any intermediaries. The State has been sanctioning Rs.5,400 crore for social security pensions and another Rs.5,000 crore to workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
At present, payments are being made partly through post offices. In some cases, cash is being disbursed at the field level, giving scope to irregularities and depriving the beneficiaries of the full amount they are entitled to.
There were several instances when payments had to be put off due to shortage of currency. Aware of the currency shortage, the RBI also recommended to the State to shift to direct benefit transfer in all the schemes.
The problem, the apex bank acknowledged, was acute in East and West Godavari districts and the three North Andhra districts.
District Collectors also complained that even ATMs were often running out of cash, creating problems in disbursement. The slowdown in the growth of bank deposits, but increased outgo of cash resulted in cash management imbalance. This, government sources said, made the RBI to promote and extend DBT system to the NREGS payments.
If implemented, about Rs.10,000 crore would go directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries
