Context:
Pahal DBT Scheme and the ‘Give It Up’ campaign have completed a decade.
PAHAL DBT Scheme:
- Stands for – Pratyaksh Hastantarit Labh (PAHAL) Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme
- An initiative by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to ensure the direct transfer of LPG subsidies to consumers’ bank accounts.
- Launched in 2015
- Aim – To eliminate leakages, prevent duplicate connections, and enhance transparency in subsidy distribution.
- Under the scheme, LPG cylinders are sold at market price, and the subsidy amount is directly transferred to consumers’ bank accounts.
- Consumers receive the subsidy through 2 modes –
- Aadhaar Transfer Compliant Mode, or
- Bank Transfer Compliant Mode (subsidy credited to the registered bank account without Aadhaar linkage).
- Significance –
- Helps in eliminating middlemen, ensuring benefits reach genuine consumers
- Encourages beneficiaries to open bank accounts, integrating them into the formal financial system.
- Aadhaar-based authentication helped remove duplicate beneficiaries and fake or fraudulent LPG connections from the system, reducing the subsidy burden of govt.
Give It Up Campaign:
- Launched in – 2015 at the ‘Urja Sangam’ global energy summit.
- Aim – To encourage well-off LPG consumers to voluntarily surrender their subsidies, allowing the government to redirect funds to the poor.
Source: BL
Previous Year Question
With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements:
1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2018 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3
Answer: (b)