INVC,
Delhi,
The Minister of Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh said that the scheme of direct cash transfer will usher in a new revolution in the country. Addressing an International Workshop on Cash Transfer here, he said that some civil society members have termed this as bribe giving, which is a bogus and ludicrous argument and added that it is rather an answer to the incompetent Army of corrupt delivery agents. Saying that the current system of delivery is not delivering, Shri Ramesh also rejected the notion that the direct cash transfer scheme would abdicate government`s commitment to welfare state. He said, the scheme will rather make the welfare State more efficient by rooting out corruption being practised by an army of incompetent and insensitive intermediaries. The Minister stressed that the cash transfer scheme underscores the instruments of the welfare state, which are subsidy, scholarships or pensions, which should be delivered in a better fashion. Terming the new mission as a Cooperative partnership between the Centre and the States, Sh Ramesh also pitched for Independent Concurrent Evaluation of the Scheme.
The direct cash transfer scheme will be officially launched from 1st January 2013 in 51 districts spread over 16 States. It will cover 29 welfare schemes at the beginning and most of them will be scholarship schemes
