The Indian Government plans to roll out an Aadhaar based Direct Cash Transfer initiative from January 1, 2013. This decision was taken in a meeting by an executive committee set up by the government to roll out the cash transfer programme across the country. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's office, the meeting was conducted by the Prime Minister's Principal secretary and the Cabinet Secretary and was attended by Secretaries and representatives of the Departments of Financial Services, UIDAI (Aadhaar), IT, Planning Commission, Expenditure, Posts, Rural Development, Social Justice & Empowerment, Tribal Affairs, Minority Affairs, Higher Education, School Education, Health & Family Welfare, Women & Child Development, Labour & Employment, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Fertilizers, and Food & Public Distribution. Services To Be Offered: The committee stated that all government departments who are currently transferring cash to individual beneficiaries, will transition to this electronic transfer system based on Aadhaar Payment Platform. This includes all subsidy transfers like education loans, scholarships, MNREGA payments, old age pension, PDS subsidies, LPG subsidies, Indira Awaas Yojna subsidies and fertilizer subsidies, as indicated by a Business Standard report. The committee also mentioned that it will identify additional government schemes which can be transitioned to the new system and prepare a roadmap for faster and smoother transition. Rollout Timeline: The committee stated that it plans to initially roll out the programme to 51 districts in the country, and hopes to cover 18 states & union territories by April 1, 2013 and 16 states & union territories by April 1, 2014.…
