FE Editorial : Bye bye, leakages

How the poor will get even more funds is easy to see, since the administrative costs associated with the scheme will be eliminated—these are typically 25-30% of the cost of the scheme and will be replaced by the cost of administering Aadhar, typically 2-5%. In the case of MGNREGA, for instance, the capital component of the scheme—the bricks and the cement—is around 30%. Since the idea of MGNREGA is not so much to create assets—which in any case aren’t always easy to find later—as it is to be able to push funds to the poor, this 30% can also be given to the poor in terms of enhanced Aadhar payments. Similarly, in the case of food subsidies, around 30% of the costs are associated with storing and distribution of foodgrains—once government procurement of grain reduces as the poor get cash transfers, the government will save money and can just as well increase Aadhar payments under this head.