Massive exercise to weed out bogus beneficiaries
Modi govt. wants to save Rs 40K crores
Subsidies cost exchequer Rs 4.55 lakh crores
A massive exercise is going on in the Modi government to weed out fake beneficiaries of its welfare schemes involving cash and kind transfers. According to data collated from various ministries the number of beneficiaries jumped from 10.80 crores in 2013-14 to 93.7 crores in 2022-23.
According to official sources, the cash transfers of Rs 28000 crores were spent in 2013-14 under various schemes which jumped to more than Rs 2 lakh crores during 2022-23. The total subsidies and benefits ran into Rs 4,55,823 crores in cash & kind during 2022-23. The mega scheme of free food alone benefited 80 crores people costing over Rs 2 lakh crores. The Centre has extended this scheme until December 2023 and likely to be further extended beyond Lok Sabha polls in May 2024 too.
The exercise to weed out bogus beneficiaries is going on a war footing basis after several reports surfaced where misuse of funds detected by the Rural Development ministry. The PM-KISAN scheme scrutiny also revealed elimination of almost two crores bogus beneficiaries. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has also come under scrutiny after the claims from states were Rs 28000 crores than the Budget estimates of Rs 60,000 crores in 2023-24.
The Union Government hopes to save more than Rs 40,000 crores this fiscal by eliminating bogus beneficiaries of many of these schemes as high subsidies are pinching the government as the economy is not looking bright due to global factors.
Under the Centre glare are beneficiaries of fertiliser subsidies, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). A significant number of duplicate or fake beneficiaries have already been removed from many of these schemes. The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers has formed fertiliser squads to curb misuse. The government provides urea at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 266 per bag (45 kg) to farmers, incurring a subsidy of more than Rs 1.50 lakh crores.
