MGNREGA post office accounts ready for cash transfers scheme

Now the 3.5 crore post office accounts of the workers under MGNREGA will be used to make Aadhar-linked direct transfer of benefits such as pensions, scholarships and social welfare payments. Earlier, the post office accounts could not be used to make any deposit other than NREGA wage.

Under the new cash or direct benefit transfer initiative, the Aadhaar number will be used to authenticate the identities of beneficiaries, who will then receive their government benefits directly into their accounts. This requires all beneficiaries to open bank or post office accounts, which will then have to be seeded with their Aadhaar numbers.

Of the 8.26 crore MGNREGA accounts in the country, 43% — or 3.5 crore — are post office accounts, while the remainder are bank accounts. States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra have an especially high percentage of MGNREGA workers using post office accounts, and are likely to benefit from this move once the cash transfer scheme comes into full swing.

There are 8.26 crore MGNREGA accounts in the country of which 43% or 3.5 crore are post office accounts, while the rest are bank accounts. States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra have an especially high numbers of MGNREGA workers using post office accounts.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2013

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs