LPG susbsidy: Banks seek Aadhaar number for payment

NEW DELHI: Following direction from Finance Minister P Chidambaram, banks have initiated the process of linking account with Aadhaar number for cash transfer of LPG and other subsidies.

Banks have started informing customers through different mode of communication including SMS about linking of Aadhaar number with the account number to facilitate subsidy transfer.

"For getting LPG, MGNREGA and other subsidies direct to your account, please get your account linked with Aadhaar number," Canara Bank said in an SMS to its customers.

Earlier this month, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked banks to gear up for the rollout of direct cash subsidy scheme for cooking gas (LPG) consumers throughout the country.

As a pilot project, the government has decided to give cash subsidy to LPG consumers under its ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme soon, and will cover 20 districts by May 15.

LPG consumers will get about Rs 4,000 per annum in cash from the government, and they will have to then buy LPG at market price of Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.

Currently, each consumer is entitled to 9 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised price of Rs 410.50. On each of these cylinder the government bears a subsidy Rs 435.

There are about 14 crore LPG consumers in the country. The government has already capped the number of subsidised cylinders at nine per household per year and beyond that a consumer has to pay the market price. However, some of the state governments are providing more subsidised cylinders and bearing the burden themselves.

The government expects that the DBT will eliminate all ghost LPG connections and diversion of cylinders.

In the first phase of DBT that started in January, 43 districts are being covered.

Under the DBT scheme, subsidies and other benefits are transfered directly into the Aadhaar linked bank account of the beneficiary.