Smart Welfare: Jharkhand Rolls Out Direct Benefit Transfer For Kerosene Subsidy

On Wednesday, Jharkhand became the first Indian state to initiate the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for subsidy on Kerosene oil to consumers in four districts of the state—Chatra, Hazaribag, Khunti and Jamtara. Chief Minister of the state, Raghubar Das, launched the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme along with Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

To mark the beginning of this scheme, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan handed over cheques of subsidy amount to the beneficiaries in presence of Sudarshan Bhagat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

While only 7.5-lakh families would benefit from the scheme for now, the government will soon roll out DBT for all 24 districts of the state. On the contrary, PMUY has been launched for the entire state of Jharkhand.

The DBT scheme is aimed at transferring subsidies directly to the people through their bank accounts in order to reduce corruption and delays. The scheme was launched on 1 January 2013 in 20 selected districts of the country and covered scholarships and social security benefits.

Under the PMUY, the beneficiary would be provided a free cylinder, a domestic pressure regulator and a pipe among other benefits. The scheme is aimed at distributing five crore LPG connections to BPL households across the country.