22.8 lakh LPG users get `91-crore direct subsidies since DBT launch
18 July 2013 4:08 AM IST
Within six weeks of its launch, the ambitious direct benefit transfer programme for cooking gas (LPG) has crossed 2.28 million transactions, with Rs 91 crore of subsidies given directly to consumers. Describing the DBT for LPG as a ‘tremendous success’, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the programme, when implemented throughout the country, would help save Rs 8,000 crore-9,000 crore of subsidies from going to unintended beneficiaries.
Under the scheme launched on June 1, consumers get Rs 435 in their bank accounts when they book an LPG cylinder. They are expected to use this cash subsidy to buy an LPG refill at the market price, which is roughly double the subsidised rate of Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.
‘The Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme was launched in 18 districts on June 1. Within six weeks, we have been able to complete 2.28 million transactions, touching the lives of 1.25 million LPG households,’ Moily said after reviewing the implementation of the scheme.
A sum of Rs 91 crore has been transferred to LPG consumers in these districts. This month, the scheme was launched in Mysore and it will be extended to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh from August 1.
Moily said that his ministry will present to the Cabinet before August 5 the status of implementation of the scheme and take directions on extending it all over the country. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said earlier in the day at Jaipur that the scheme would be extended to all LPG consumers in the country by the end of the year.
‘We are not committing to that. The Cabinet will take a call on that,’ Moily said when asked about extending the scheme. The review meeting was attended by Unique Identification Authority of India Chairman Nandan Nilekani, Oil Secretary Vivek Rae and DBT Mission Director S Sundareshan, along with heads of state-owned fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL. Moily said the scheme covers 72 lakh consumers, 600 distributors and 19 districts across India.
While as many as 89 per cent of the LPG consumers in these districts have an Aadhaar number, the government has given them three months to link their bank accounts to the UID number to enable transfer of the cash subsidy.
With effect from September 1, after the grace period ends, LPG cylinders will be sold to all domestic consumers at the market price. The subsidy will be transferred only to those with their Aadhaar number linked to their LPG consumer number and bank account.
Under the scheme launched on June 1, consumers get Rs 435 in their bank accounts when they book an LPG cylinder. They are expected to use this cash subsidy to buy an LPG refill at the market price, which is roughly double the subsidised rate of Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.
‘The Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme was launched in 18 districts on June 1. Within six weeks, we have been able to complete 2.28 million transactions, touching the lives of 1.25 million LPG households,’ Moily said after reviewing the implementation of the scheme.
A sum of Rs 91 crore has been transferred to LPG consumers in these districts. This month, the scheme was launched in Mysore and it will be extended to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh from August 1.
Moily said that his ministry will present to the Cabinet before August 5 the status of implementation of the scheme and take directions on extending it all over the country. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said earlier in the day at Jaipur that the scheme would be extended to all LPG consumers in the country by the end of the year.
‘We are not committing to that. The Cabinet will take a call on that,’ Moily said when asked about extending the scheme. The review meeting was attended by Unique Identification Authority of India Chairman Nandan Nilekani, Oil Secretary Vivek Rae and DBT Mission Director S Sundareshan, along with heads of state-owned fuel retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL. Moily said the scheme covers 72 lakh consumers, 600 distributors and 19 districts across India.
While as many as 89 per cent of the LPG consumers in these districts have an Aadhaar number, the government has given them three months to link their bank accounts to the UID number to enable transfer of the cash subsidy.
With effect from September 1, after the grace period ends, LPG cylinders will be sold to all domestic consumers at the market price. The subsidy will be transferred only to those with their Aadhaar number linked to their LPG consumer number and bank account.
Next Story
