DIRECT BENEFITS TRANSFER

Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT is an anti-poverty program launched by Government of India on 1 January 2013. This program aims to transfer subsidies directly to the people. The primary aim of this Direct Benefit Transfer program is to bring transparency and terminate pilferage from distribution of funds sponsored by Central Government of India. Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS), being implemented by the Office of Controller General of Accounts, will act as the common platform for routing DBT. CPSMS can be used for the preparation of beneficiary list, digitally signing the same and processing of payments in the bank accounts of the beneficiary using the Aadhaar Payment Bridge of NPCI.

Union Minister for Rural Development of India Jairam Ramesh and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Kiran Kumar Reddy inaugurated the scheme at Gollaprolu in East Godavari district on 6 January 2013.

On June 1st, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, M Veerappa Moily formally launched the scheme direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme in 20 high Aadhaar coverage districts. The subsidy on LPG cylinders will be credited directly credited to consumers Aadhaar linked bank account. All Aadhaar linked domestic LPG consumers will get an advance in their bank account as soon as they book the first subsidized cylinder before delivery. On receiving the first subsidized cylinder subsidy for next will again get credited in their bank account, which can then be available for the purchase of the next subsidized cylinder at market rate until the cap of 9 cylinders per year is reached.

DBT IS NOW A PART OF FOLLOWING PROGRAMMES:-

·         National Child Labour Project

·         Student Scholarship

·         LPG subsidy

The DBT is potentially a game-changer but there are certain pre-requisites that need to be in place for it to be a success. One is financial inclusion with each beneficiary to have a bank or post office account; two, each bank and PO in India to have Internet connectivity; three, each beneficiary to have an Aadhaar number; four, each bank/PO account to be seeded with the Aadhaar number.

All this will naturally take time. Managing the transition and ensuring that no one gets deprived of their benefits in the interim is essential, otherwise there can be a backlash. The government has realised this and has recalibrated its plans to make them more realistic without giving up on the ambition. And the great thing is that the DBT push has given unprecedented momentum to progress in this direction, each element of which is a public good in itself.

Sindhu receives Arjuna Award

 World badminton bronze medallist P. V. Sindhu received the Arjuna award from Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh at the Sports Authority of India office. The award carries an Arjuna statue, Rs. five lakh and a citation.

This year, Sindhu won her maiden Grand Prix title in Malaysia and bagged a World championship medal by knocking out home favourites such as defending champion Wang Yihan and former World No. 1 Wang Shixian.

Govt. panel to promote excellence in research

The Centre has set up a committee to create a framework for evaluation of research and rankings by promoting healthy competition among institutions, departments and individual researchers. The move follows a disappointing performance by India’s higher educational institutions in world rankings this year.

The 18-member committee to improve research performance of academic institutions will be chaired by K. Vijay Raghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, and will submit a report within three months. The committee will review the existing arrangement for funding of research — both core funding of research facilities and infrastructure and project funding in academic institutions.

The aim is to identify gaps and ensure a more coordinated approach in research funding and develop a strategy for selective approach in allocation of research support to academic institutions.

The committee will also develop a framework for excellence in research to ensure that increased funding supports the country’s most talented researchers and most effective research institutions. It also aims at ensuring that some of the institutions reach the global benchmarks in research performance.

Coal block auction policy for private firms gets Govt nod

The Cabinet approved the methodology for auctioning coal blocks, providing for upfront and production-linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices.

Coal blocks will be put for auction after the Environment Ministry reviews them, and bidders have to agree to a minimum work programme, according to an official statement. “ The methodology provides for auctioning the fully explored coal blocks, and also provides for fast-tracking the auction by exploration of regionally explored blocks,” the statement said. The policy will ensure greater transparency.

The policy provides for production-linked payment on a rupee per tonne basis, plus a basic upfront payment of 10 per cent of the intrinsic value of the coal block. The intrinsic value would be calculated on the basis of net present value (NPV) of the block arrived at through the discounted cash flow (DCF) method, the statement said.

To benchmark the selling price of coal, the international f.o.b (freight-on-board) price from the public indices like Argus/Platts will be used by adjusting it by 15 per cent to provide for inland transport cost which would give the mine mouth price. To avoid short-term volatility, the average sale price will be calculated by taking prices of the past five years. For the regulated power sector, a 90 per cent discount would be provided on the intrinsic value. This would help rationalise power tariffs, the government said. To ensure firm commitment, there will be an agreement between the Ministry and the bidder to perform minimum work programmes at all stages. There will be development stage obligations in terms of milestones to be achieved such as getting mining leases and obtaining environment/forest clearances, while the bidder will have to give performance guarantees.

The policy also provides for relinquishment of a block without penalty if the bidder has carried out the minimum work programme stipulated in the agreement. According to the statement, the Ministry of Environment and Forests will review details of coal blocks and communicate its findings before the areas are put to auction. 

The Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2013, seeks welcome policy focus for India's stressed water economy, generally characterised by poor governance, inadequate infrastructure and scanty public services. The draft law proposes an explicit system of rights to water — for domestic use, irrigation, industries, etc — and a transparent, participative approach to develop and manage both river basins and groundwater levels. Such an approach makes eminent sense, as reform in the water sector must necessarily be a consultative, consensual process, rather than a mechanical exercise, given the sheer volume of resources, financial and otherwise, required over the medium term and well beyond.

We need to put in place clear entitlements, regulatory and pricing practices to sustainably and equitably augment water availability nationally. The fact is that we are heavily and excessively reliant on groundwater, in over 50% of irrigated area, for example. And, already, our overall water balances are precarious, with about 15% of all aquifers in a critical condition. The draft Bill does call for "community-based institutions" to arrest over-drawl of groundwater.

It specifies a Water Regulatory Authority in every state, along with new mechanism design to avoid inter-state water disputes.

But the fact remains that for decades we have neglected investment in and maintenance of surface water distribution and storage. India has a high seasonal rainfall pattern, yet our water storage capacity amounts to only about 30 days of rainfall, a fraction of that in developed economies. Hence the vital need for water harvesting and check dams. In parallel, we need stepped-up investment in flood control, sewage disposal and water treatment. A sound legal framework will help.

Nuclear extravagance in Washington

Nuclear commerce is likely to feature prominently in the forthcoming discussion between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama in Washington. The U.S. government is keen to clinch some sales for its nuclear industry. The Prime Minister would like to advance the nuclear deal that has, so far, failed to yield a single contract for reactors. However, as we describe here, India’s plans to buy reactors from the U.S. are deeply problematic: they involve the expenditure of thousands of crores of Indian public money on arbitrarily selected American companies. The reactors on offer are commercially untested, and accompanied by unscientific promises about high levels of safety that are belied by the fierce determination of these companies to absolve themselves of responsibility for any accident.