Government tasting the success of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, is planning to almost double the number of schemes under DBT to 147 by next March from 74 currently. Government has saved Rs 14,872 crore by offering subsidy on cooking gas (LPG) directly to consumers and DBT is now being extended to kerosene in over two dozen districts on pilot basis to save a part of the Rs 24000 crore subsidy outgo. It has also launched pilots for paying subsidy on food and fertiliser directly via bank accounts of beneficiaries.
Earlier, the Expenditure Management Commission (EMC), headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, had in its report, suggested rationalising and merging centrally-sponsored schemes and extending DBT to all subsidies and welfare payments. It had favoured expenditure reform and rationalisation rather than reduction.
Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa has said the government has implemented 30 per cent of the recommendations of the Expenditure Management Commission (EMC) that was set up to suggest reforms to overhaul the subsidy regime and lower fiscal deficit. Lavasa said that it is the food subsidy where we have been able to rationalise and bring it down. Similarly, in case of fertiliser subsidy, non urea subsidy there has been a reduction. Pilot is going on in kerosene and fertiliser. With regard to kerosene, he said more and more states are gradually turning to be kerosene free and are gradually shifting to LPG. Lavasa stated that through DBT, government hopes to achieve accurate targeting of beneficiaries, weed out duplication, curb leakages and bring efficiency in delivery process to help control expenditure and bring greater accountability and transparency.