PM clears 78 districts for direct cash transfer scheme

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today reviewed the progress of the UPA's showpiece electoral weapon - the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. Chairing a meeting of the implementation committee that he heads, the PM announced the expansion of the scheme to cover another 78 districts. With this, 120 districts, or around one-fifth of the country, will see direct cash transfers to bank accounts of beneficiaries.

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Three pension schemes, that the Ministry of Rural development runs, have also now been brought under the programme. While the UPA has set very high hopes from this scheme, the PM struck a note of caution by saying that the program is testing the implementation capacity of the government, adding that the scheme cannot fail.

The programme was rolled out in January and since then, has faced a number of operational issues - including that of digitising data, enrolling beneficiaries in Aadhaar and the opening of bank accounts among others. The PM is believed to have asked all departments to sort out the difficulties.