Question : Direct Benefit Transfer

(a) whether the Government has achieved the desired results of developing the IT applications to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes in the country and if so, the details thereof, scheme-wise and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) the number of beneficiaries of the said scheme as on date, State/UT and scheme-wise;

(c) whether the Government has received complaints in implementation of the said scheme since inception;

(d) if so, the details thereof, scheme-wise and the reasons therefor along with the present status of such complaints; and

(e) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government for effective implementation and to increase coverage of the said schemes in the country”

(a) to (e): Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is a major reform initiative where benefits, in cash or kind, are delivered directly to beneficiaries using Aadhaar as an identifier. It envisages better flow of funds and information using Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), thereby achieving efficiency and inclusion in the delivery processes, leading to greater accountability and transparency. The scheme specific IT applications of the Ministries / Departments are used to capture beneficiary details in digital form and benefits are transferred directly to the bank account. DBT Bharat Portal has been developed to capture aggregated information for monitoring of DBT on-boarded schemes. As on 20.3.2017, 90 welfare and subsidy schemes are being reported on DBT Bharat Portal. The details of schemes alongwith beneficiaries are enclosed in Annexure. Scheme specific issues in the implementation of DBT are dealt by the respective administrative Ministries / Departments, through appropriate interventions. The Ministries / Departments have been requested to develop and integrate their scheme specific IT applications with the DBT Bharat Portal. DBT Mission has examined 1198 Schemes / Components of 75 Ministries/Departments and identified about 532 Schemes /Components of 63 Ministries /Departments as DBT applicable Schemes, including 90 already on-boarded schemes. To facilitate DBT implementation, DBT Cells have been set up by 76 Ministries / Departments.