Which of the following Direct Benefit Scheme (DBT) has been recognized by the 'Guinness Book of World Record' as the world's largest Direct Benefit Scheme ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, PAHAL. PAHAL — Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh, the modified Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas — is the scheme Guinness World Records certified as the largest cash-transfer (direct benefit transfer) programme in the world. The recognition rested on the number of households actually receiving transfers: 12.57 crore as on 30 June 2015. The scheme was launched in 54 districts on 15 November 2014 and extended to the whole country on 1 January 2015. Its mechanics are what make it a true DBT rather than a price subsidy: the consumer buys the refill cylinder at the market rate from the distributor, and the subsidy amount is credited directly into her bank account, either through the Aadhaar-linked route or, for consumers without Aadhaar, straight into the bank account linked to the LPG consumer number. That design cut out the leakage that a subsidised counter price invites — ghost and duplicate connections, and diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders into the commercial market.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The intended trap. MGNREGA is a wage-employment guarantee created by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and its wages are indeed paid electronically into workers' bank and post-office accounts. But it is commonly described as the world's largest public-works or employment-guarantee programme — a different superlative. The Guinness recognition for the largest direct benefit transfer / cash-transfer scheme was given to PAHAL, not to MGNREGA.  (c) The National Social Assistance Programme, launched in 1995 under the Ministry of Rural Development, gives social-assistance pensions to the elderly, widows and persons with disabilities, plus a family benefit on the death of a breadwinner. It gives effect to Article 41 of the Directive Principles, and its payments do flow through DBT — but it is far smaller in reach than the LPG subsidy transfer and holds no such record.  (d) Wrong because option (b) is right — PAHAL is precisely the scheme Guinness World Records recognised.

Concept: Direct Benefit Transfer replaces subsidies delivered through a controlled price or through goods with money sent straight into a beneficiary's bank account. It rests on what the Economic Survey christened the JAM trinity — Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar for de-duplicated identity, and mobile phones for authentication and alerts — coordinated across ministries by the DBT Mission. LPG was the flagship test case: instead of the distributor selling the cylinder below cost, the consumer pays the market price and the government credits the subsidy to her account. Because every transfer must land in an identified bank account, duplicate and non-existent consumers drop out of the system, which is where the savings come from.

State PCS 2019 Q37 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q37 — Economy PYQ with Answer