 "PM chairs Aadhaar, DBT review meeting")
Officials told the PM about 16 million bogus ration cards have been weeded out as a result of implementing the programmes. That is 10.6 per cent of the 150 million ration cards issued nationwide.
Modi was also apprised of the progress made in Aadhaar generation and seeding of official databases to streamline the process of identification and targeting of beneficiaries.
According to a press release, Modi was informed that in 2015-16 more than Rs 61,000 crore was distributed to 300 million beneficiaries using DBT. “DBT has resulted in significant savings across welfare schemes. It has also resulted in weeding out of duplicate beneficiaries. For instance, over 1.6 crore (16 million) bogus ration cards have been deleted, resulting in savings of about Rs 10,000 crore,” the release said. “Similarly, 3.5 crore (35 mn) duplicate beneficiaries were weeded out in the PAHAL scheme, resulting in savings of over Rs 14,000 crore in 2014-15 alone. In MGNREGS too, a saving of Rs 3,000 crore (roughly 10 per cent) has been estimated in 2015-16.”
The PM is said to have told officials working on the two programmes to work towards creating a platform that is error-free, and to ensure the targeted beneficiaries got their benefits on time.
He also asked all the departments concerned to ensure that as new mechanisms were put in place, these should not cause inconvenience to any beneficiary. The PM asked the officials to test their systems carefully before implementing.
