Welfare schemes: Pb to transfer money directly to beneficiary

Punjab Government has decided to transfer benefits of welfare schemes directly to bank accounts of the beneficiaries from the next financial year, in a bid to ensure transparency and efficiency.
It was also decided that beneficiaries have to submit applications online for availing benefits of these schemes, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said here today.
Sukhbir asked several concerned departments including finance, social security, welfare and education to create web portals by January to upload requisite applications for availing the benefits.
"Application forms for availing all types of pensions and 'shaguns' will be submitted online at Suwidha Kendras and Sewa Kendras, whereas heads of educational institutes have been made responsible to submit necessary data of their beneficiary students for availing scholarships," Sukhbir said.

Presiding over a review meeting regarding disbursements of pensions, 'shaguns', SC students and minority scholarships here, the Deputy Chief Minister directed the social security, welfare, medical, technical, schools and higher education departments to initiate awareness campaign.
To retain students in state's institutions, Sukhbir asked the concerned departments to cover all government schools, colleges, ITIs including engineering, polytechnic, medical and para-medical institutes for provisioning of pre-matric, post-matric SC students and minority scholarships.

He also directed to open savings bank accounts of all students beginning from Class 1 to higher institutes so that different scholarships could be dispensed with directly into their accounts.

He said the state had forwarded cases of 5,29,166 minority students under pre-matric scholarship scheme to get help to the tune of Rs 141.38 crore and the Centre has released first installment of Rs 43.86 crore which would be distributed shortly.
Besides, Rs 88.77 crore has been disbursed to 55,892 students under post-matric scholarship scheme during this fiscal.