Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa

With the government facing criticism for linking various public services with Aadhaar, finance secretary Ashok Lavasa said the ‘revolutionary’ biometric identifier programme should not be undermined as it has brought efficiency in public spending and helped in checking corruption.

He added that using Aadhaar as a platform, government initiatives like direct benefit transfer in various social sector schemes have resulted in savings to the tune of Rs 34,000 crore.

“There have been some palpable achievements in some of the schemes (where DBT is implemented). There is an assessment that in all these schemes, the quantum of savings would be about Rs 34,000 crore. So far, DBT has been implemented in 78 schemes and there are many more in which it has to be implemented,” Lavasa said.

Lavasa said Aadhaar can become the single identity proof for an array of services. “Aadhaar… is revolutionary… what it has done is something which has not been done anywhere in the world. You have 105 crore people who have a unique identity,” he said.

While for long, developed countries were admired for giving their citizens a single identity card, Aadhaar becoming a similar identity proof is “now a distinct possibility in India,” he said.

Stating that Aadhaar has huge potential for changing many of the procedures for conducting business, he said, “I think this platform of Aadhaar which has been created should not be undermined. It is very important…linked to Aadhaar is the whole gamut of public expenditure which is a matter of concern not only for those who want more efficiency of public spending, but also all of us who are concerned with transparency and removal of corruption.”

Lavasa highlighted that the use of technology has made the system more transparent and Aadhaar seeding has brought about efficiency with inter linking of beneficiaries. He said the seeding process has enabled to remove people who were availing both LPG and kerosene subsidy at the same time.

“About 1.73 lakh PDS shops have PoS machines and all these are Aadhaar enabled… The fertiliser depots are in the process of installing PoS machine. The subsidy in fertiliser has remained where it was in previous years, but the subsidy in kerosene has come down tremendously. DBT, together with other things, is going to improve public expenditure and make it more efficient,” Lavasa said.

On economic growth, Lavasa said at a time when global growth looks uncertain, the Indian industry should focus on deepening and strengthening the local economy.

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