Keen to hasten the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today shifted a key department overseeing its implementation from the Planning Commission to the Finance Ministry for "better coordination" and "resolution of inter-ministerial issues".
The DBT programme has covered over 2.8 million LPG transactions valued at Rs 116 crore in the seven weeks since it was launched, the Prime Minister's Office said here today.
"In order to improve inter-ministerial coordination and hasten the rollout" of the DBT programme, "the Prime Minister has approved the shifting of the Mission Director and his officers from Planning Commission to the Ministry of Finance. This shift will enable direct supervision of the rollout of DBT across the country and resolution of inter-ministerial issues," it said.
The full-time 'Mission Director' had been appointed for DBT to manage the extensive work involved in rolling out the programme across the country. The Mission Director is supported by a Joint Secretary and additional officers.
"The Prime Minister decided to place the office of Mission Director (DBT) and his officers within the Ministry of Finance. This would improve the coordination between the DBT programme and the Department of Expenditure and Department of Financial Services. This would make the DBT rollout far more effective and quicker," the PMO said.
It said the location has been shifted because "the bulk of the work in DBT at the moment is in digitisation of databases, re-engineering government processes for automating financial transactions, enrolling in Aadhaar and ensuring that every recipient has bank accounts seeded with Aadhaar.
"The re-engineering and automation of financial transaction processes have to be facilitated by the Department of Expenditure. The opening of bank accounts and seeding them is the responsibility of Department of Financial Services.
