The ambitious scheme of giving cash subsidy on cooking gas directly to consumers has become the world's largest direct benefit transfer with 2.5 crore households getting about Rs 550 crore since November 15.
The direct benefit transfer on LPG (DBTL), under which cash subsidy is paid to consumers so that they can buy cooking gas at market price, was rolled out in 54 districts from November 15 and will be extended all over the country from January 1.
"In 54 districts, 75 per cent of the population is now covered by DBTL," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here. "DBTL today has become the world's largest direct benefit transfer scheme."
The scheme has surpassed number of beneficiaries in direct benefit transfer programmes in China and Brazil.
Pradhan said he has personally reviewed roll out of the scheme in as many as 42 districts so far and will do so in 10 or so before the end of the year. "Out of such a large number of users joining the scheme, we received only 3,000 complaints, 80 per cent of which have been addressed within 7 days."
His ministry officials as well as top executives of oil marketing companies have adopted one district each in the country to oversee roll out of the scheme under which consumers have to get their bank accounts seeded with their LPG connection.
The moment they join the scheme, oil companies transfer advance cash subsidy in their bank accounts to enable them to buy LPG refills at market rate. Once a consumer takes delivery of the cylinder, another advance cash subsidy is transferred to the bank account.
At present, a subsidised LPG cylinder costs Rs 417 per 14.2-kg bottle while its market price is Rs 752, the difference being the subsidy component.
"I have adopted Palwal in Haryana while IOC Chairman (B Ashok) is incharge of New Delhi. BPCL Chairman S Varadarajan has adopted Nasik in Maharashtra and likewise each of the 676 districts in the country has been taken over by some senior official," Pradhan said.
