The Government has constituted a Task Force on transfer of direct subsidy in the case of Fertilizers, LPG and Kerosene under the Chairmanship of Shri Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI on 14th February, 2011. The Task Force has submitted its Interim Report to the Government on 5th July, 2011 and it can be seen the Finance Ministry’s website (www.finmin.nic.in). The Task Force is in the process of having discussions and carrying out pilot studies. The Task Force has recommended a phased approach for the implementation of the transfer of direct subsidy to beneficiary as under:
Phase I: Information visibility about the movement of goods across the fertilizer supply chain, till the last point at the retailer, from whom the farmer buys the fertilizers. This information on availability of the retail point will be made available on transparent public portal.
Phase II: In the Interim Report, it is envisaged that the subsidy will be released to the retailer (last point sale) when he receives the fertilizer. This will involve transfer of subsidies directly to the retailer bank account on receipt of fertilizer from the wholesaler. The advantage of this phase is that fertilizer will more at full value across the supply chain upto the retailer.
Phase III: Transfer of subsidy to intended beneficiaries once the AADHAAR numbers are given to the beneficiaries and AADHAAR enabled payment bridges are in place.
The Task Force is in the process of having discussions and pilot studies. As & when the Task Force submits its final report, the same would be taken up for consideration and implementation by the Government.
