DBT Government payment stands for Direct Benefit Transfer. It is a scheme launched by the Government of India in January 2013 to change the mechanism of transferring cash subsidies and benefits. The main objective of DBT is to make payments directly into the Aadhaar linked bank accounts of the end beneficiaries, removing any malpractices from the existing system.
The implementation of DBT involves various components, including Beneficiary Account Validation System, a robust payment and reconciliation platform integrated with RBI, NPCI, Public & Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks, and Cooperative Banks. The government has disbursed a significant amount of funds, close to 60% of the welfare and subsidies budget of the Union government, directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries since 2014.
DBT has been successful in delivering over 450 schemes to more than 900 million people in India. By August 2019, 439 central schemes had been included in the DBT program, and about 3,486 state/UT schemes were identified. The program aims to increase transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the delivery of government subsidies and benefits.
