P M Raghunandan, Bangalore, Oct 28, 2014, DHNS :
State-owned oil marketing companies – IOC, BPC and HPC – are all set to roll out a modified Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG refills in Mysore and Tumkur districts from November 10.
The modified scheme will not be linked to Aadhaar numbers, but will work purely based on bank accounts. The subsidy component of the LPG refill will be credited directly to the consumers’ bank accounts.
However, oil companies have decided to continue supplying LPG refill to consumers who already have Aadhaar-based bank accounts, said Dilip Rai, General Manager (LPG), IOC.
The previous Congress-led UPA government had launched the Aadhaar-based DBT in June 2012 on a pilot basis in Mysore and Tumkur districts, where Aadhaar coverage was more than 80 per cent.
The modified scheme will not be linked to Aadhaar numbers, but will work purely based on bank accounts. The subsidy component of the LPG refill will be credited directly to the consumers’ bank accounts.
However, oil companies have decided to continue supplying LPG refill to consumers who already have Aadhaar-based bank accounts, said Dilip Rai, General Manager (LPG), IOC.
The previous Congress-led UPA government had launched the Aadhaar-based DBT in June 2012 on a pilot basis in Mysore and Tumkur districts, where Aadhaar coverage was more than 80 per cent.
In March 2013, the scheme was discontinued following the Supreme Court judgement that unique identity numbers should not be made mandatory for availing government services. The NDA government modified the scheme, delinking it from Aadhaar.
In fact, the recently launched Jan Dhan Yojana, which envisages opening at least one bank account to every family, is expected to provide a shot in the arm to the modified DBT.
Oil companies have been struggling to bring consumers in rural areas under the Aadhaar-based DBT, official sources said. Also, the glitch is that neither oil companies nor banks have authentic data on the number of families that do not have bank accounts.
The State-level bankers’ committee has now undertaken a survey as part of Jan Dhan Yojana to identify families that do not have bank accounts.
How it works
Under the modified scheme, consumers only have to approach any of the banks, including private ones, and obtain a bank mandate for DBT. Once they submit the filled-in bank mandate to the distributor, she/ he will get registered under the new system.
The oil companies will deposit the subsidy component in the bank account soon after a consumer applies for LPG refill, Rai said. LPG consumers in Mysore and Tumkur will be given three months to register under the new system, from the date of launch.
Unlike the previous Aadhaar-based DBT, consumers who fail to register within three months will not lose out the subsidy on refill. While charging the complete cost of a refill, oil companies will park the subsidy component of such consumers in a separate account. The accumulated subsidy amount will be deposited in the bank account the moment a consumer comes under the scheme, he added.
Official sources said that the modified scheme is likely to be extended across the State from January 1, 2015. Preparations are already underway.
In fact, the recently launched Jan Dhan Yojana, which envisages opening at least one bank account to every family, is expected to provide a shot in the arm to the modified DBT.
Oil companies have been struggling to bring consumers in rural areas under the Aadhaar-based DBT, official sources said. Also, the glitch is that neither oil companies nor banks have authentic data on the number of families that do not have bank accounts.
The State-level bankers’ committee has now undertaken a survey as part of Jan Dhan Yojana to identify families that do not have bank accounts.
How it works
Under the modified scheme, consumers only have to approach any of the banks, including private ones, and obtain a bank mandate for DBT. Once they submit the filled-in bank mandate to the distributor, she/ he will get registered under the new system.
The oil companies will deposit the subsidy component in the bank account soon after a consumer applies for LPG refill, Rai said. LPG consumers in Mysore and Tumkur will be given three months to register under the new system, from the date of launch.
Unlike the previous Aadhaar-based DBT, consumers who fail to register within three months will not lose out the subsidy on refill. While charging the complete cost of a refill, oil companies will park the subsidy component of such consumers in a separate account. The accumulated subsidy amount will be deposited in the bank account the moment a consumer comes under the scheme, he added.
Official sources said that the modified scheme is likely to be extended across the State from January 1, 2015. Preparations are already underway.