First things first. Before one digs into the meat (paneer) of the manifesto, it is useful to read the opening message by PM Modi. One sentence in particular stands out for citing a figure that has long been debunked.

The trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile has weeded out over 8 crore fake beneficiaries, and prevented leakages of more than Rs 1 lakh crore.

Rs 1 lakh crore appears to be a substantial saving. So, what is the source of this claim? How did the government arrive at this claim that runs into eleven zeroes ?

The report on which this claim is based has long been debunked as factually incorrect. The genesis of this claim lies in a 2016 World Bank report called ‘World Development Report - Digital Dividends’.

In chapter 3, titled ‘Delivering Services’ (p 195) the report mentions that direct transfer of subsidies is “potentially saving over US$11 billion per year in government expenditures through reduced leakage and efficiency gains.”