PMO asks P&NG Ministry to roll out LPG subsidy through DBT

NEW DELHI, INDIA: After the PM reviewed the progress on Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme on April 5, the National Committee on DBT took an important decision to roll out the transfer of LPG Subsidy through DBT in 20 districts from 15 May 2013.

To expedite the implementation of this roll out, the Principal Secretary to PM has written to the Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas (P&NG). The Principal Secretary to the PM has urged the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to roll out the transfer of LPG subsidy through DBT in 20 districts with effect from 15 May 2013.

In a letter to the Secretary of P&NG, accessed by CIOL, the PMO writes, "I am writing to you to highlight the importance of expediting the steps that need to be taken by your Ministry to ensure the timely roll out. As far as LPG Subsidy is concerned, M/o P&NG is starting from the fortuitous position of having a more or less complete digitized database of consumers.

Further, the financial transactions will have to be managed by the three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) without having to deal with intermediate agencies. This is a good base to begin from."

The PMO cites that the primary challenge is to ensure that the customer database with OMCs and the bank accounts of consumers are introduced with Aadhaar numbers. The districts that have been chosen for this purpose are part of the 43 districts in Phase-I, where the Aadhaar enrolment is at the peak.

Urging for a dedicated team in the P&NG Ministry, which would expedite the effort, the PMO wrote, "I learn that Aadhaar seeding in OMC databases has risen considerably in the last four months. OMCs should make concerted efforts to ensure that seeding rates improve further in the remaining time that is there. M/o P&NG will need to coordinate with D/o Financial Services and the banks to ensure that the seeding in customer bank accounts also improves."

PMO has asked the P&NG Ministry to move a note to the Cabinet and obtain approvals, necessary for the roll out. As per the PMO, the numbers involved and the money to be transacted are much larger than in any other scheme under DBT so far.