NEW DELHI: The Modi government’s focus on Aadhaar-based services has become a key enabler in delivering relief to the poor to cushion them from the impact of Covid-19 with a massive database of 62 crore beneficiaries in the public distribution system and close to 9.5 crore enrolled in the MGNREGA programme.

The seeding of Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts, also part of the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, has created a delivery bridge that sends money into verified accounts of the poor with minimum leakage. There are also more than 25.5 crore beneficiaries linked through Aadhaar to the Centre’s Ujjwala LPG scheme.

There are 987 banks linked to the Aadhaar payment bridge with the number of transactions crossing 622 crore, establishing the durability of the system. The transactions have totalled more than Rs 276,000 crore. The MGNREGA transactions have crossed 77 crore, and the previous system of verifications and stages has been reduced, delivering as much as Rs 82,000 crore.

The DBT transactions relating to LPG-Pahal scheme have nearly touched 500 crore and the value is more than Rs 105,000 crore. DBT transactions relating to more than a dozen central schemes have touched 100 crore and the amount is almost Rs 120 crore.

The national social assistance programme has delivered more than Rs 7,500 crore and the amount under PM Kisan is almost Rs 5,500 crore.

The expansion of Aadhaarbased services has been rapid, gaining pace once the Supreme Court upheld its use in several sectors. The number of Aadhaars linked to bank accounts has crossed 68 crore.

