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Cabinet officials

Direct Benefit Transfer and Wage Payments for Tribal Affairs

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Shri Durgadas Uikey, informed Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has not received any complaints regarding the accessibility and efficiency of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for Scholarship schemes implemented for ST students. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rural Development has introduced provisions for additional wage employment for Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas, drought/natural calamity-affected areas, and as per State Governments' funds. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 100% of wage payments are made directly to beneficiaries' accounts through the DBT protocol.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has not received any complaints regarding the accessibility and efficiency of the DBT mode for Scholarship schemes implemented for ST students.
  • The Ministry of Rural Development has introduced provisions for additional wage employment for Scheduled Tribe households in forest areas under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.
  • The additional 50 days of wage employment are provided to every Scheduled Tribe Household in a forest area, provided they have no other private property except for land rights provided under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
  • In drought/natural calamity-affected notified rural areas, up to an additional 50 days of wage employment are provided.
  • State Governments may make provision for providing additional days of employment beyond the period guaranteed under the Act from their own funds.
  • 100% of wage payments are made directly to the accounts of beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) protocol.
  • The Ministry of Rural Development has taken various steps to ensure timely payment of wages, including improvement of National Electronic Fund Management System (Ne-FMS), consultation with State Governments, formulation of Standard Operating Procedure, and reviewing the status of timely payment.
  • Various technological interventions, such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS), have been implemented to facilitate timely wage payments.

Statistics:

  • 100% of wage payments are made directly to the accounts of beneficiaries through the DBT protocol.
  • Additional 50 days of wage employment are provided to every Scheduled Tribe Household in a forest area.
  • Up to an additional 50 days of wage employment are provided in drought/natural calamity-affected notified rural areas.
  • State Governments' contributions to additional days of employment beyond the Act's stipulated period are not specified in the provided text.

Sources:

  • The Government of India, PIB Delhi (exact source as mentioned in the original text)

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