DBT Revolution: How Modi Govt Prevented ₹5 Lakh Crore in Welfare Fraud

The Indian government's Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) model, implemented since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has led to cumulative savings of nearly ₹5 lakh crore by eliminating fake and non-existent beneficiaries from various welfare schemes, according to government officials.

PM Modi hinted at this in his recent podcast with Lex Fridman, stating that his administration adopted a model similar to DOGE as soon as he assumed office.

Massive Savings Through DBT

Official data reveals that by March 2022, DBT had saved ₹2.84 lakh crore, with the figure rising to ₹3.48 lakh crore by March 2023. With annual savings now averaging ₹64,000 crore, cumulative savings have reached approximately ₹5 lakh crore.

Key savings across major schemes include:

• ₹73,443 crore saved by eliminating 4.15 crore duplicate and fake LPG connections.

• ₹1.85 lakh crore saved by deleting five crore duplicate and fake ration cards.

• ₹42,534 crore saved by removing 7.10 lakh fake job cards under MGNREGA in 2022-23.

• ₹537 crore saved by eliminating 11.05 lakh fake beneficiaries in the National Scholarship Assistance Programme (NSAP).

• ₹1,916 crore saved by deleting 30.92 lakh fake beneficiaries from the minority scholarship scheme.

• ₹1,054 crore saved by removing 12.28 lakh fake beneficiaries from Social Justice and Environment scholarship schemes.

• ₹1,523 crore saved by eliminating 98.8 lakh fake beneficiaries from Women and Child Development schemes.

• ₹18,699 crore saved by reducing 158.06 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizer sales to retailers.

• ₹22,106 crore saved by removing two crore ineligible beneficiaries from the PM-Kisan scheme.

• Additional savings of ₹1,175 crore across various other schemes.

PM Modi’s Vision for Transparency

In his conversation with Lex Fridman, PM Modi highlighted how his government tackled deep-rooted issues by identifying fraudulent beneficiaries. “We discovered ghost names in pension schemes, with widow pensions issued even before marriages and disability pensions granted without genuine disabilities. A hundred million fake names were removed, leading to enormous savings,” he said.

He credited DBT with ensuring that funds reached rightful beneficiaries without leakages, eliminating middlemen, and establishing transparency. "Because of technology-driven DBT, my country has saved nearly three trillion rupees," he added.

PM Modi further emphasized that bold reforms like these, akin to DOGE’s mission, attract global attention.

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