Data show that direct benefit transfer has reached an all-time high in the two years since the Covid pandemic

*Paromita Das
According to government data, funds transferred to people in cash and kind under various subsidies and benefits reached a new high of Rs 6.18 lakh crore in the last fiscal year, a more than 63 percent increase over the previous two years.

According to the most recent data compiled from various central ministers and departments, nearly Rs 6.18 lakh crore was transferred directly to bank accounts or given in kind to people across the country in 2021-22. According to government figures, this was a significant increase from Rs 5.52 lakh crore distributed to people in 2020-21, the previous fiscal year, and Rs 3.8 lakh crore distributed in 2019-20.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) saw a record number of 783 crore transactions in 2021-22, a significant increase from 603 crore transactions in 2020-21 and 438 crore transactions in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Over the last two years, the number of transactions has increased by nearly 79 percent.

During the Covid pandemic, the Narendra Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana in 2020 to provide free rations to nearly 80 crore people in the country – this appears to have played a significant role in the increase in DBT. In 2021-22, there were 342 crore transactions under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS), with benefits totaling Rs 2.17 lakh crore transferred to people.

The government stated that the Aadhaar-enabled DBT payments in 2020-21 saved nearly Rs 45,000 crore, bringing the total savings since 2014 to Rs 2.2 lakh crore. The government promotes the DBT scheme as one that eliminates middlemen and corruption by transferring funds directly into bank accounts or in kind to millions of people.

DBT payments enabled by Aadhaar increased by up to 140 percent in April 2021 compared to March 2020. They increased by more than 200 percent from April 2020 levels in May 2021, indicating government DBT payments in Covid times.

It was the UPA government that piloted the DBT in 2013-14 before the Modi government adopted it and expanded it to cover all government schemes that provide cash or in-kind benefits to citizens.

PM Modi has previously extolled the virtues of DBT, citing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s claim that out of 100 paise released by the government for the welfare of the poor and needy, only 15 paise reached the beneficiaries due to leakages and corruption. Modi popularised the ‘JAM’ (Jan Dhan Bank Account, Aadhaar, and Mobile) system for DBT.

Currently, 313 central government schemes, including PM-KISAN, PM Aawas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, LPG-PAHAL, and MGNREGA, are on the DBT-Aadhaar platform.