Plan direct cash transfer in health insurance, pension: Sinha

Even as trials are on to implement the direct benefit transfer scheme to fertiliser subsidies, the scheme is planned to be extended for health insurance also, parliament was told on Friday.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that the government intends to use the DBT scheme for health insurance and pensions in the coming days in collaboration with states.

To check leakages in the payment of fertiliser subsidy, trials are on in some locations to transfer funds through DBT, he said.

Presenting the union budget for the current fiscal in February, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed extending the DBT model in cooking gas subsidy to fertilisers, by introducing it on a "pilot basis in a few districts across the country".

--IANS

bc/vd