The Centre’s transfer of assorted subsidies and sops to the beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) fell by about 4% on year to Rs 6.6 lakh crore in 2024-25, the latest official data showed.

DBT transfers reached a record Rs 7.16 lakh crore in FY23, largely due to the free grains scheme and higher subsidies on fertiliser due to price rises.

Given that the full Budget was presented in July, many new scheme rollouts were delayed, including the new or revamped schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). In PMAY-G, the beneficiaries received Rs 27,755 crore in FY25, 19% lower than Rs 34,306 crore in FY24.  

Of the DBT transfers in FY25, Rs 3.8 lakh crore or 57.6% was in kind, and the balance was in cash transfers to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

Subsidies worth Rs 1.78 lakh crore were transferred towards subsidised fertiliser in FY25, around 3% lower than in FY24, reflecting moderation in international prices.

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Thanks to the plugging of leakages and voluntary give-ups, subsidised food grains under DBT fell 5% to Rs 1.63 lakh crore compared with Rs 1.71 lakh crore in FY24. Approximately 22 million people under food security cover did not avail free grains in the past 3-12 months.

Around 62,066 crores have been transferred to people under the job guarantee scheme (MGNREGS) in FY25 compared with Rs 66,895 crores in the previous year, an annual decline of 7%.

Around 1.85 billion beneficiaries for different schemes are registered under various DBT schemes as of March 31, 2025.

DBT for most of the central government schemes (325) resulted in Rs 3.5 lakh crore in savings due to plugging of leakages between FY15 and FY23.

During FY15- FY23, deletion of over five crore duplicate and fake or non-existent PDS ration cards helped the Centre save nearly Rs 1.86 lakh crore in food subsidies.