Government May Resume Aadhaar-linked DBT Scheme: Report

New Delhi: The government is mulling restarting the DBT (direct benefit transfer) scheme to directly transfer money into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts with a view to plug leakages by weeding out ghost beneficiaries, according to a source.

"Government may restart the Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme as it has initiated the exercise to evaluate the efficacy of the scheme," the source said.

The Planning Commission and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which implements the Aadhaar project, are jointly preparing a report on the Aadhaar-link DBT scheme.

Senior officials from UIDAI and the planning body are visiting 300 districts spread across the country to study the impact of the Aadhaar-based scheme, the source said.

He also said that the commission has been asked to submit the report on the Aadhaar-based DBT in these 300 districts before August 15.

Earlier on January 30, the UPA government had suspended the ambitious direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme, where consumers in 289 districts in 18 states got cash of Rs 435 per month in their bank accounts for purchasing cooking gas at market rate.

The DBTL scheme was put on hold due to complaints that many were not getting the benefit in absence of either an Aadhaar card or a bank account-linked Aadhaar.

The working of the UIDAI had come under scrutiny of the Supreme Court, which in an interim order, had observed that the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing of benefits of the government's subsidy schemes.

As per experts, government would have to seek apex court permission to modify earlier interim order for resumption of the Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer scheme for making payment of benefits.