Yogi government logs Rs 2.75 trillion in Direct Benefit payments

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / Nov 7, 2021

Setting a new record, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has logged Rs 2.75 trillion in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payments under different schemes in the last four and half years.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) refers to the direct money transfer to the beneficiary’s bank account, and is reckoned as a revolutionary step towards transparent governance. 

On Saturday, the UP government had credited Rs 1,980 crore in the accounts of parents of 18 million students of government and aided schools for purchasing uniform, sweater, bag, shoes and socks.

In the last budget session of the UP assembly, Governor Anandiben Patel, while referring to DBT, had said in the financial year 2020-21, the state had transferred Rs 56,000 crore directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries, thus eliminating the middlemen.

While the DBT helps in curbing corruption, it is proving to be a boon for farmers, labourers, daily wagers, students and pensioners, a UP government spokesperson said here.

The programme has helped the government in mounting an effective response during the Covid-19 lockdown. The funds were sent directly to the accounts of millions of farmers, MNREGA workers, labourers, women, elderly, ‘divyangs’ and pensioners. The no-frills Jan Dhan bank accounts opened on the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the orbit for such transfers.

The DBT was also resorted to for the government’s flagship farm loan waiver scheme totalling Rs 36,000 crore that benefitted 8.6 million small and marginal farmers in UP.

Besides, the DBT pertains to the payment of sugarcane arrears totalling Rs 1.45 trillion apart from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi totalling Rs 27,521 crore to the accounts of more than 25 million farmers.