Lucknow. The basic spirit of Antyodaya is to extend the benefits of government schemes to the people standing at the last rung of the society. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay had considered this idea as the criterion of good governance. Efforts are being made to achieve this goal through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Uttar Pradesh. Under this system, government assistance is sent directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, which helps in making the payment process transparent and limiting the role of middlemen.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state government is using the DBT system for payment of various public welfare schemes. Its objective is to ensure that the eligible person does not have to make repeated trips to government offices to get assistance and the prescribed amount reaches his account directly. With this change, instead of limiting government schemes to mere announcements, emphasis is being laid on extending their benefits to the people.
Assistance reaching bank account directly
Facilities like bank account, Aadhaar and mobile play an important role in the DBT system. Through these, efforts are made to make the identification and payment process of beneficiaries more systematic. The system of direct payment in Kisan Samman Nidhi, social pension, scholarship and other welfare schemes is applicable in the state.
Farmers are given assistance under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi. Along with this, emphasis is also laid on timely payment for purchase of agricultural produce at minimum support price and settlement of dues of sugarcane farmers. The objective of these arrangements is to facilitate the process of providing farmers with their produce and eligible scheme funds.
Support to the needy through pension and scholarship
Schemes like old age pension, destitute women pension and disabled pension are financial support for needy families. Through DBT, the amount of these schemes is sent directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. This helps in increasing transparency in the payment process and reducing the dependency of the beneficiaries.
Financial assistance is also provided to meet the needs of school children. The purpose of sending the prescribed amount to the accounts of the parents of students from classes one to eight is to arrange for essential materials like uniforms, shoes-socks, bags and sweaters. At the same time, scholarship payments to eligible students are also made directly into bank accounts, so that their studies are not affected due to financial difficulties.
Emphasis on identification of fake beneficiaries
Verification of beneficiaries details is important to ensure transparency in government schemes. Efforts are made to identify ineligible and double registration beneficiaries through Aadhaar based authentication and other verification processes. This can help curb misuse of government funds and ensure aid reaches the right beneficiaries.
Proponents of DBT believe that reducing unnecessary layers in the payment process reduces the chances of corruption and leakage of funds. However, the data related to savings and removal of fake beneficiaries should be estimated on the basis of official data of the concerned departments.
Bank Sakhi increased financial access
The impact of DBT is not limited to government payments only. Bank Sakhis have also played a role in increasing the reach of banking services in rural areas. They help rural families, especially women, to avail banking facilities, conduct account transactions and avail government assistance.
Providing financial assistance through bank accounts provides an opportunity to increase the financial participation of women. When women manage their own accounts, their role in the economic activities of the family can also be strengthened. In this way DBT is being linked to financial inclusion and women empowerment.
Solution of technical challenges is also necessary
With the expansion of the DBT system, some challenges also arise. Network issues in remote areas, limited access to banking services, lack of thumb impression verification and lack of digital literacy may hamper some beneficiaries. In such cases, arrangements for alternative verification, local level assistance and quick disposal of complaints are necessary.
The spirit of Antyodaya can be fully realized only when even people deprived of technical facilities can easily avail the benefits of the schemes. For this, awareness campaigns, expansion of banking services and effective resolution of payment related complaints are necessary.
Initiative to link good governance with public welfare
DBT has provided an opportunity to make the payments of government schemes more systematic and transparent. In Uttar Pradesh, through this system, emphasis is being laid on providing assistance to farmers, students, pensioners and other eligible beneficiaries. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, direct payment in public welfare schemes of the state government is being seen as an important medium of good governance.
Ultimately, the success of DBT should be measured not only by the amount transferred to the accounts, but also by whether the eligible person got timely assistance or not, how much difficulty he faced in getting the payment and how quickly the complaints were resolved. Only when government assistance reaches the needy without discrimination, in a transparent manner and with respect, will the concept of Antyodaya be strengthened in the real sense.