Asha workers, DBT beneficiaries in focus as govt preps for elections

For a government opposed to freebies, ensuring that benefits of its schemes come early will be politically crucial

As the government prepares for five state Assembly elections in December 2023 and the Lok Sabha contest next year, it is hoping that increasing expenditure on schemes will give it significant help.

It will give larger payouts to Asha health workers and ensure by the end of September direct benefit transfer (DBT) for those eligible for central government support.

The finance ministry has asked central government ministries and departments to show how much money they have left in their ledgers against the estimated payouts from the respective schemes. To cite one example, if the petroleum and natural gas ministry expected