Fertiliser DBT in Punjab and Haryana next

New Delhi : The government will introduce direct benefit transfer (DBT) of fertiliser subsidies in Punjab and Haryana next month. Last month, the facility was rolled out in 14 states and Union Territories.
The government bears about Rs 70,000 crore annually as fertiliser subsidy. “We have shortlisted Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to go live in December,” Fertiliser Joint Secretary Dharam Pal said.
Niti Aayog-appointed MicroSave, an NGO, is evaluating the implementation.
Stating that the government is implementing phase one of the fertiliser DBT, Pal said: “We are transferring subsidy to companies after checking retail sales data captured through the Point of Sale (PoS) machines.” The transfer of subsidy directly into farmers’ bank accounts will be taken up in the second phase once Niti Aayog suggests a model, he said.
The DBT for fertiliser subsidy payments is different from cooking gas, he added. For LPG, customers buy gas cylinders at the market price and the government deposits the subsidy into the bank account later. In case of fertilisers, farmers may not be able to make upfront payments because some of the soil nutrients are very costly. Therefore, they will continue to buy fertiliser from the retailer at a subsidised rate and the transaction details will be recorded on the PoS machines.