The transfer of assorted subsidies and sops to beneficiaries through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) helped plug leakages worth Rs 82,573 crore in FY24, bringing the Centre’s cumulative savings since FY15 to approximately Rs 4.31 lakh crore, according to the latest government data.
The DBT-induced savings provided government finance managers with significant headroom to improve the quality of spending and offer additional welfare benefits to eligible beneficiaries, without overly constraining the exchequer.
To put this in perspective, cumulative DBT savings between FY15 and FY24 are more than double the Rs 2 lakh crore allocated for production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors in ten years through 2030 to boost private investment and manufacturing.
PDS, LPG schemes lead in savings
In FY24, the Centre saved Rs 64,399 crore by removing 58.7 million duplicate, fake, or non-existent ration cards. Additionally, it saved Rs 15,525 crore by eliminating 12.6 million fake and duplicate job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Substantial savings were also achieved by identifying and removing fake beneficiaries in scholarship and other social welfare programmes.
Scope of DBT widened across schemes
The Congress-led government had initiated Aadhar-mobile-linked DBT for LPG subsidies in its final year in office, disbursing benefits worth Rs 7,368 crore. The current government has since expanded DBT coverage to all major schemes. In FY23, DBT transfers reached a record Rs 7.16 lakh crore. Since FY15, about Rs 45 lakh crore have been transferred directly to beneficiaries—both in the form of cash into bank accounts and in-kind benefits like food and fertilisers.
Of the total DBT-enabled savings of Rs 4.31 lakh crore, weeding out of 58.7 million fake ration cards under the public distribution system accounted for Rs 2.5 lakh crore—or nearly 58% of total savings.
Removal of 42.3 million fake beneficiaries and 11.5 million beneficiaries who gave up their subsidies under the LPG-Pahal scheme helped in savings to the tune of Rs 73,846 crore.
Among others, the deletion of 12.6 million duplicate beneficiaries under the job guarantee scheme (MGNREGS) yielded gains of Rs 58,059 crore and Rs 22,106 crore due to the removal of ineligible 21.1 million PM-KISAN beneficiaries. It also saved Rs 18,700 crore due to reduction of 158.06 lakh metric tonne of fertilizer sale to retailers.