Overview

• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has saved India ₹3.48 lakh crore since 2014 by eliminating leakages and improving welfare efficiency.
• FY25 DBT transfers dropped 4% year-on-year to ₹6.6 lakh crore, down from a peak of ₹7.16 lakh crore in FY23.
• Of the FY25 transfers, 57.6% (₹3.8 lakh crore) were in-kind benefits, while the remainder were cash transfers to Aadhaar-linked accounts.
• Key schemes saw reduced allocations in FY25, including a 19% drop in PMAY-G funds and a 5% decline in food grain subsidies.
• DBT now covers 1.85 billion beneficiaries, with the Welfare Efficiency Index rising nearly threefold from 0.32 in 2014 to 0.91 in 2023.