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Taking a cue from the issues faced in the first phase of implementation of Direct Benefits Transfer, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked Secretaries of various ministries to initiate work for digitisation of the database of beneficiaries in all the districts of the country.
The Government plans to roll out the second phase of Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) from July 1 in 78 more districts. With this, the total number of districts covered will be 121. At the same time, three pension schemes managed by the Ministry of Rural Development will also be brought under DBT in all 121 districts under Phase I and Phase II.
This will take the number of schemes under DBT to 29. Similarly, there is a plan to begin DBT for LPG subsidy, will be rolled out in 20 districts from May 15.
In a letter, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterjee said, “Every Department implementing DBT is expected to begin work without any delay so that rollout takes place as decided.” He mentioned four critical areas which need particular attention.
The first is digitisation of beneficiary databases. Chatterjee mentioned this as ‘an important challenge in the first phase’.
“Absence of digitised databases hampers other steps in DBT. You may like to initiate work on preparation of digitised databases across all districts, not just those covered in Phase II, so that the rollout happens on time,” he said.
Secondly, he asked the Secretaries to issue clear and unambiguous instructions about the next phase of rollout. Thirdly, he talked about completing the process re-engineering for DBT funds flow.
“Process re-engineering is essential to ensure direct transfer of funds to beneficiary accounts and real time monitoring,” he said while emphasising the completion of process re-engineering in time for phase II.
On April 5, the Prime Minister, while chairing the meeting of National Committee on DBT, had said, “DBT requires process re-engineering at the Government level. We need to change the way we transact business, the way we release funds, the way we track funds and the information we have on beneficiaries.”
The Prime Minister had also admitted the poor nature of tracking and monitoring systems for funds deployed. Taking a cue from this, Chatterjee said that each department must put in place a robust monitoring system that could monitor coverage of beneficiaries and the transfers that are taking place, both in volume and value.
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