Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: A saving of over ₹3 lakh crore has resulted to the exchequer by weeding out fake beneficiaries of the government’s schemes for food security, rural employment and fuel subsidy between FY18 and FY24, according to sources in the department of expenditure. The department identified and cancelled 50.1 million fake ration cards, struck off 41.3 million fake beneficiaries of the LPG subsidy scheme, 700,000 bogus names under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and 17.3 million fake beneficiaries under the PM Kisan scheme.
Savings in FY24 stood at ₹30,000 crore, said the source familiar with the presentation made to the Cabinet Secretary earlier this month on the economic agenda for the first 100 days of the new government. “The amount will be much higher, if we take into account savings over the last 10 years,” the source said.
The Centre is working closely with state governments on plugging leakages and technology could play a greater role in this endeavour. The Centre initiated a special drive in May 2023 to identify leakages in the fertiliser subsidy. It formed squads to check the diversion of fertilisers for industrial use.
More than 50 first information reports (FIRs) were filed, 100,000 bags of agrochemical seized and several arrests were made under the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies Act. Similarly, the Central and state governments are jointly working on the beneficiary list under the PM Kisan scheme, removing duplicate or fake beneficiaries.
Officials said the efforts are reflected in the fall in the direct benefit transfer, which declined by a fifth against the total subsidy transfer in FY23.
