A MIXED BLESSING

Direct benefit transfers have done well in the Rs 1.7 lakh crore post-lockdown package for the poor. Other provisions seem hobbled by inherent flaws and implementation gaps

- KAUSHIK DEKA

On May 12, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package, he added that part of it had already been disbursed in the form of the Rs 1.7 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), announced on March 26. Over the next two days, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman not only gave an account of the implementation of the PMGKP, but also added some additional welfare measures to the package. The PMGKP, announced to provide relief to the marginalised sections during the lockdown, had multiple components—direct benefit transfers (DBT) in cash, support in the form of free foodgrains, benefits for low-income workers and farmers, insurance for health workers fighting COVID-19 and funds for the battle against the pandemic. Of these, cash transfers through the DBT infrastructure have seen a near-100 per cent success rate. But the implementation of the other provisions has not been as comprehensive.

Take the Rs 500 a month for women Jan Dhan cardholders for the next three months. An assessment survey in 50 districts across eight states—Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan—conducted by the Rapid Community Response to COVID-19, a national-level coalition of 20plus civil society organisations, found that nearly 90 per cent of the respondents had an active Jan Dhan account. However, only 66 per cent of them said they had received the cash in their accounts.