By Express News Service
Published: 24th September 2015 02:32 AM
KOCHI: The Guinness World Records has approved the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG Subsidy (DBTL) scheme as the ‘Largest Cash Benefit Programme (households)’ in the world. The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, had applied for the title.
The application was approved after the Guinness World Record authorities examined the claim, under stringent parameters with respect to similar cash transfer programmes in other countries like the U.S and China.“The DBTL scheme under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, christened as the Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh (PAHAL), was launched in 54 districts on November 15, 2014, and in the rest of the country on January 1, 2015.
“Under the scheme, every LPG consumer has to link his Aadhaar number with the LPG connection and the bank account. LPG consumers who do not have Aadhaar number also get subsidy by simply linking their bank accounts with the LPG database,” BPCL authorities has stated in a press release here.The project was jointly implemented by oil companies BPCL, HPCL and IOCL. Within four months, they brought 80 per cent of their consumers under the scheme.