Earlier this week, rumours were spread through social media that money transferred to women’s Jan Dhan accounts will be taken back if the beneficiary does not withdraw immediately from their bank accounts.
Which created chaos among the people and led to queues outside the bank branches to withdraw the amount which in turn hampered the social distancing which was to be maintained due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Finance Ministry on Thursday, therefore, clarified that the transfers to the accounts of poor shall only be made through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Mechanism and no other means shall be used for the disbursal. The government also added not to believe in such outlandish rumours.
The Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) refers to the transfer of subsidies or other benefits directly to the bank account of beneficiaries. It was launched by the Government on 1st January 2013.
The Department of Financial Services tweeted that “India has JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) based DBT mechanism for diff. schemes. Successfully deposited Rs. 28,256 Cr. to 31.77 Cr. beneficiaries bank a/cs under COVID relief. DBT is a fulcrum for targeted delivery of such measures. Pls, don’t believe any outlandish rumours!”