Centre assesses DBT scheme implementation by ministries

It has roped in newly inducted 172 IAS officers to conduct baseline assessment and DBT eligibility assessment of schemes. These IAS officers of 2014 batch are working as assistant secretaries in different ministries under a first-of-its-kind initiative of the Union government to groom bureaucrats at the Centre before they move out to their respective cadre states. 

The DBT initiative has gained significant momentum in the last few months. Its scope has been expanded to include not only cash transfers but also in-kind transfers (e.g. subsidised foodgrains under Public Distribution System with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication) and payments to enablers of schemes like Asha and Anganwadi workers. 

“Now, the Government of India has set an ambitious target of bringing all subsidy and welfare schemes under the ambit of DBT by March 31, 2017,” according to a recent communique by Cabinet Secretariat. Currently, 74 schemes across 17 ministries are being reported on DBT. 

Thrust areas where DBT Mission will be engaging with DBT cells are identification of all the schemes being implemented in respective ministries or departments and freezing the list of schemes that are DBT-compliant. 

“For such DBT eligible schemes, further set of activities that include digitisation of beneficiary database, process reengineering (wherever required), Aadhaar seeding, automation of processes, integration of fund transfer with Public Financial Management System and Aadhaar based fund transfer and developing a Management Information System for effective monitoring and feedback will have be carried out,” the Cabinet Secretariat said.