Direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene and lPG likely to continue till the end the tenure of the Government. The subsidies will be meant for the needy only to support them financially but cut short the rampant misuse of distribution as reportedly practised all over the country presently. “We are not going to stop subsidies for both kerosene and lPG till the end of our Government’s tenure. The subsidies will be meant for the deserving beneficiaries only, but not for undeserved ones,” Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.
Focussing mostly on the kerosene subsidy, the Government undertook the DBT on a pilot basis on 1 April 2016 in nine states - Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Enthused by the results in 33 districts across 9 states, the Petroleum Ministry has initiated talks with the rest of the state Governments as it prepares for the national launch of the DBT of kerosene. “We are getting good and satisfactory results from the states. Going forward, we plan to come up with an all India launch of the scheme. We are in talks with other states as well,” said the Minister.
“Even, I usually ask my colleagues to prepare a list of beneficiaries in their respective states and submit it to the Oil Ministry. We will take care of them through Aadhar-linked channel to get their subsidies,” he added.
In the Budget in FY17, the Government has provided Rs 26,947 crore for fuel subsidies - Rs 19, 803 crore for lPG and Rs 7,144 crore for kerosene. But it is learnt that oil marketing companies have also been permitted to raise the retail price of PDS kerosene by 25 paise per month for 10 months to help cut down a part of the Rs 7,144 crore kerosene subsidy bill for the fiscal.